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FRANK R. STOCKTON 

Volume IV 

THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


















".sta o\ ^ ziM. " 

M r\AQ3MZ .T ^mwinfo & «wcyv\ 



" Miss Gay sat silent , her eyes wandering from side to side.” 
From a drawing by W. T. SMEDLEY. 


THE NOVELS AND STORIES OF 
FRANK R. STOCKTON 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 



r v^ W Y0RK 

'CHARLES SCKtBNER’S SONS 



TWO COPIES RECEIVED. 

Library of Cc "«?“**» ^ 

Office of »b« C-,%\ob 

Utol4W ^ 

Register of Copy flits* & '' 



Copyright, 1886, 1887, 1899, by 
Frank R. Stockton 



So 'i 


THE DEVINNE PRE68. 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


















































V 








































































































































THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


CHAPTER I 

I N one of the liveliest portions of a very lively met- 
ropolitan street was situated the popular resort 
known as Vatoldi’s. It was a restaurant which owed 
its extensive patronage to the inducements it offered 
to persons of refined tastes and moderate purses. It 
was in a shopping district, and from early break- 
fast-time until a very late supper hour, Vatoldi’s 
seemed never to be without customers, and John 
People seemed always to be behind the little desk 
near the entrance of the long and handsome room. 
In fact, he was not always there, for his manifold 
duties required his presence in a great many places ; 
but if a customer looked up from his meal and did not 
see John at his ordinary post, he would be very likely 
to see him there the next time he looked up, and thus 
an impression was produced on the minds of patrons 
similar to the impression given by the juggler who 
makes one believe that because an object has been in 
one place a great many times it is always there. 

John People was a young man of vigorous and ro- 
tund figure, with a slightly upturned nose, very light- 
brown hair brushed smoothly on his well-rounded 

3 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


head, and a general expression of sad good humor 
combined with sleepless perspicacity. Dutiful resig- 
nation to his lot raised his eyebrows and slightly 
wrinkled his forehead, but his wide-open eyes gazed 
steadily on the business in hand as if they had nothing 
to do with the future or with retrospection, no matter 
how the brow might choose to occupy itself. 

There was about John an air of strong independence, 
associated with a kindly willingness, which made it a 
pleasant thing to watch him as he attended to his 
varied duties. He was the chief man and manager at 
Vatoldi’s, and although the cooks cooked, the waiters 
waited, and the little boy opened the door for the 
ladies, as they had been taught to cook, wait, and open, 
they all appeared to act under John’s personal direc- 
tion, as if they had been an orchestra moved by a 
conductor’s baton. He was not the owner of the 
establishment, and yet he was the only visible head. 
Early in the morning he went to the markets and 
selected the most desirable meats and vegetables. He 
personally inspected the commodities of grocers and 
fruiterers, and he brought a keen investigation to bear 
upon the necessary supplies of wines and malt liquors. 
All expenditures were made by him, and all receipts 
went into his money-drawer, and were daily deposited 
by him in a neighboring bank. But although he thus 
stood at the head of affairs, there seemed to be nothing 
which John was unwilling to do. If a truck arrived 
with some heavy merchandise, John would put his 
hat upon his smoothly brushed locks, and, with a 
slightly rolling yet energetic step, would proceed to 
the sidewalk and give what directions might be needed, 
even sometimes lending a very strong hand to a piece 
4 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


of difficult lifting or lowering. The moment this duty 
was done he would step vigorously back to his post, 
hang up his hat, leaving his locks as smoothly brushed 
as ever, and be ready again to receive the money of 
his customers. There was a young man who acted as 
cashier during his superior’s occasional absences from 
the desk, but nearly all the money that went into the 
till passed directly through John People’s hands. 

Yatoldi’s was a remarkably well-ordered establish- 
ment ; its viands, its service, and its general equipment 
were all of the best, and yet its prices were extremely 
reasonable. To combine the advantages of the two 
classes of restaurants generally found in American 
cities seemed to be the moving principle of John 
People’s mind. To dine or lunch well at Vatoldi’s, 
one did not need to bring a friend with him to share 
the expense and help eat a supply of food overabun- 
dant for one person. Instead of that, one had enough, 
paid not too much, and went away with pocket and 
stomach equally well satisfied. There was nothing, how- 
ever, in the aspect of Yatoldi’s to suggest the ordinary 
cheap American restaurant. There were no shelves 
filled with tin cans and bottles, no tables spread with 
pies and cakes. Everything was in tasteful order, and 
placards of any kind were totally tabooed. Even on 
the outer front, one read but the words, above the 
plate-glass door : 

VATOLDI, 

BREAKFAST AND DINING ROOMS 

Yet there was not a total absence of display of 
viands. After the fashion common to English hostel- 
ries, a large round table stood near the centre of the 
5 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


room, on which were set out huge cold joints, poultry, 
and game, in order that such persons who knew, or 
supposed they knew, exactly what they liked to eat, 
could say to the waiter, “Cut me a slice from here, or 
there,” or, “Let me have the liver wing of that fowl.” 
It was surprising with what faithfulness the clear eyes 
of John People, looking out from under his resigned 
brow, kept themselves upon these details. 

It was toward the end of May, the weather was 
getting to be very pleasant for outdoor life, and it 
was about one o’clock in the day,— an hour at which 
the thought of Yatoldi’s began to be very pleasant to 
a great many people,— when there walked into the 
already well-filled room a tall gentleman, who took 
his seat at a small table at the extreme upper end of 
the room. As he walked slowly up the whole extent 
of the apartment, his glossy hat held carefully in one 
hand, while the other carried his silver-mounted cane, 
most of the people seated at the tables looked upon 
him as he passed ; and he, in turn, gazed from side to 
side with such particularity that his eyes fell upon 
every person in the room, to many of whom he bowed, 
or rather nodded, with a certain stiffened gracious- 
ness that was peculiarly a manner of his own. This 
gentleman was a regular habitue of Vatoldi’s, and was 
a personage so very well known in the metropolis that 
he seldom entered an assembly of any size in which 
he did not meet some one with whom he was ac- 
quainted. His name was Mr. Stull, or, as signed by 
himself, J. Weatherby Stull. He was not only tall, 
but large, bony, and heavy. His clothes were of a 
costly quality, and had the appearance of being quite 
new. He had a good deal of watch-chain, and wore 

6 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


several heavy rings. His manner was grave and even 
solemn, but, when occasion required it, he would en- 
deavor to produce upon the minds of his inferiors the 
impression that there were moments when they need 
not look up to J. Weatherby Stull. This was a con- 
cession which he deemed due from himself to mankind. 

Mr. Stull was a very rich man, and his business 
operations were of various kinds. He was president 
of a bank j he was a large owner and improver of real 
estate, and it was generally understood that he had 
money invested in several important enterprises. He 
lived with his family, in a handsome house, in a fash- 
ionable quarter of the city, and his household affairs 
were conducted with as much state as he considered 
compatible with republican institutions. 

In addition to his other occupations, Mr. Stull was 
the proprietor of Vatoldi’s, but this fact was known to 
no one in the world but himself and John People. 

This establishment, which he had owned for many 
years, had been placed, upon the death of the former 
manager, in the charge of John People. John was a 
young man to hold such a responsible position, but 
Mr. Stull had known him from a boy and felt that he 
could trust him. Mr. Stull was a very good judge of 
the quality of subordinates, especially in a business of 
this kind. Those who gave John People credit for 
keeping such an excellent restaurant, and even those 
who supposed that the never-to-be-seen Yatoldi might 
sometimes help him with advice, gave the young man 
entirely too much credit. He was capable, quick- 
sighted, willing, and honest, but he seldom did any- 
thing of importance which had not been planned and 
ordered by Mr. Stull. 


7 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


This gentleman was, in fact, one of the best restau- 
rant-keepers in the world. His habits of thought, his 
qualities of mind, all combined to make him nearly 
perfect in his vocation. Every day, after John had 
made his deposit at Mr. Stull’s bank, he went into the 
president’s private room and had a talk with him. If 
anybody noticed his entrance, it was supposed that the 
young man was consulting with Mr. Stull in regard to 
the investment of his profits. But nothing of this kind 
ever took place. John had no share in the business, 
and no profits, and the conversation turned entirely 
upon beef, lamb, mutton, early shad, and vegetables, 
and the most minute details of the management of 
Yatoldi’s kitchen and dining and breakfast rooms. 
Every afternoon John received careful directions as 
to what he was to buy, what dishes he was to have 
prepared, and, in general, what he was to do on the 
following day. On the following day he did all this, 
and Yatoldi’s was the most popular resort of its kind 
in the city. 

But notwithstanding the fact that in the manage- 
ment of his restaurant Mr. Stull showed a talent of 
the highest order, and notwithstanding the fact that 
his present wealth was founded on the profits of this 
establishment, and that its continued success was the 
source of higher pride and satisfaction than the suc- 
cess of any other of his enterprises, he would not, on 
any account, have it known that he was the proprietor 
of Yatoldi’s. His sense of personal dignity, and the 
position of himself and family in society, positively 
forbade that the world should know that J. Weatherby 
Stull was the keeper of a restaurant. He had thought, 
at times, of cutting loose from this dangerous secret 
8 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


and selling Vatoldi’s ; but there were many objections 
to this plan. He did not wish to lose the steady in- 
come the business gave him, an income that could 
always be depended upon, no matter what the condi- 
tion of stocks and real estate ; he did not wish to give 
up the positive pleasure which the management of the 
establishment afforded him j and he felt that it would 
be a hazardous thing to attempt to sell the business 
without betraying his connection with it. 

So Vatoldi’s went on, and Mr. Stull’s position went 
up, and John People’s honor and vigilance, the rock 
on which they both rested, was always to be depended 
upon. 

Mr. Stull always took his luncheon at Vatoldi’s, and 
he believed that the fact of his being a constant patron 
of the establishment was one cause of its popularity. 
If a man in his high position took his meals there, 
other people of fashion and position would be likely 
to do the same. 

“I like Vatoldi’s,” he would say to his friends, “be- 
cause you can get as good a meal there as at any of 
the high-priced, fancy places, without having to pay 
for any nonsense and frippery. Of course the extra 
oost of taking my meals at one of these fashionable 
restaurants would make very little difference to me 
now, but I should never have reached the position in 
which I at present find myself if I had not always 
made it a point to get the worth of my money. And 
besides, it’s a sensible place. They give you steel 
knives for your meats, and keep the silvered ones for 
fish and fruit, just as it’s done in high-toned English 
society. And you are waited on by men who look 
like clean waiters, and not like dirty gentlemen.” 

9 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


As on this fine May afternoon Mr. Stull sat at his 
meal, which was the best the place afforded, for in 
every way he liked to set a good example to those 
around him, his eyes continually traversed the length 
and breadth of the room ; and had there been anything 
out of the way John People would have heard of it 
that afternoon when he came to the bank. While he 
was thus engaged, a coupe, drawn by a pair of small 
sorrel horses with tails trimmed in English fashion, 
stopped before Yatoldi’s, and a handsomely dressed 
young lady got out and entered the restaurant. Mr. 
Stuffs eyes brightened a little at this incident, and he 
looked about to see if other people had noticed the 
entrance of the newcomer. The young lady was his 
oldest daughter, and he had always encouraged his 
family to come to Vatoldi’s whenever they happened 
to be shopping at lunch-time. He did not think it 
wise to say so, but he liked them to come in a car- 
riage. Whenever bad weather gave him an excuse, 
he always came in a carriage himself. Nothing would 
have pleased him better than to have the street in 
front of Vatoldi’s blocked by waiting carriages. 

The entrance of Miss Stull had not been more 
quickly and earnestly noticed by her father than by 
John People. The eyes of that young man were fixed 
upon her from the moment she leaned forward to open 
the carriage door until she had been conducted to an 
advantageous vacant table. This was not near the 
one occupied by her father, for the young lady did 
not care to walk so far into the room as that. 

In a refrigerator, near his little desk, John kept, 
under his own charge, certain cuts of choice meats 
which he handed out to be cooked for those customers 


10 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


who had specific tastes in regard to such things. In 
one corner of this refrigerator John kept a little plate 
on which always reposed a brace of especially tender 
lamb chops, a remarkably fine sweetbread, or some 
other dainty of the kind. When Miss Stull happened 
to come in, the waiter was always immediately in- 
structed to say they had that day some very nice 
chops or sweetbread, as the case might be $ and the 
young lady, being easily guided in matters of taste of 
this kind, generally ordered the viand which John had 
kept in reserve for her. Sometimes, when she did not 
come for several days, John was obliged to give to 
some one else the delicacy he had reserved for her, 
but he always did this with a sigh which deepened 
the lines of dutiful resignation on his brow. 

Miss Stull was a young lady of rather small dimen- 
sions, quite pretty, of a bright mind and affable dis- 
position, and entirely ignorant that there was a man 
in the world who for three days would keep for her a 
brace of lamb chops in a corner of a refrigerator. 
John’s secret was as carefully kept as that of his em- 
ployer, but the conduct of Vatoldi’s was no greater 
pleasure to Mr. Stull than were the visits to that 
establishment of Mr. Stull’s daughter to John People. 

When Mr. Stull had finished his meal, he walked 
slowly down the room, and stopped at the table where 
his daughter still sat. That young lady thereupon 
offered to finish her meal instantly, and take her 
father, to the bank in the coupe. 

“No, my dear,” said Mr. Stull, “there is no occasion 
for that. Never hurry while you eat, and be sure to 
eat all you want. Do you continue to like Ya- 
toldi’s f ” 


11 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Oh, yes, papa/’ said Miss Stull, “everything is very 
nice here, and I am sure the place is respectable.” 

“It is more than respectable,” said Mr. Stull, a little 
warmly. Then, toning down his voice, he continued : 
“If it were not everything it ought to be, I should 
not come here myself, nor recommend you and your 
mother to do so. I always find it well filled with the 
best class of people, many of them ladies. By-by 
until dinner-time.” 

Then he walked to the desk and paid the amount 
of his bill to John People, with never a word, a gesture, 
or a look which could indicate to the most acute ob- 
server that he was putting the money into his own 
pocket. 

Mr. Stull had scarcely creaked himself out of Va- 
toldi’s when there entered an elderly man dressed in 
a suit of farmer’s Sunday clothes. His trousers were 
gray and very wide, his black frock-coat was very 
long, and his felt hat, also black, had a very extensive 
brim. Deep set in his smooth-shaven face were a 
pair of keen gray eyes which twinkled with pleasure 
as, with outstretched hand, he walked straight up to 
the desk behind which John People stood. John 
cordially grasped the hand which was offered him, 
and the two men expressed their satisfaction at see- 
ing each other in tones much louder than would 
have been thought proper by Mr. Stull, had he been 
present. 

“I am glad to see you, Uncle Enoch,” said John. 
“How did you leave mother?” 

“She’s as lively and chipper as ever,” said the 
other. “But I didn’t come here only to see you. I 
came to get somethin’ to eat. I want my dinner now, 
12 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


and I’ll stop in in the afternoon, when people have 
thinned out, and have a talk with you.” 

As he said this, Mr. Enoch Bullripple moved toward 
the only vacant place he saw, which happened to 
be on the opposite side of the little table at which 
Miss Stull still sat, slowly eating an ice. At first John 
seemed about to protest against his uncle’s seating him- 
self at this sacred table, although, indeed, it afforded 
abundance of room for two persons ; but then it shot 
into his mind that it would be a sort of bond of union 
between himself and the young lady to have his uncle 
sit at the same table with her. This was not much of 
a bond, but it was the only thing of the kind that 
had ever come between Miss Stull and himself. 

When Mr. Bullripple had taken his seat, and had 
ordered an abundant dinner of meat and vegetables, 
he pushed aside the bill of fare, and his eyes fell upon 
Miss Stull, who sat opposite to him. After a steady 
gaze of a few moments, he said : “How d’ye do? ” 

Miss Stull, who had thrown two or three glances of 
interest at her opposite neighbor, which were due to 
his air of countrified spruceness, now gave him a quick 
look of surprise, but made no answer. 

“Isn’t this Matilda Stull? ” said the old man. “I’m 
Enoch Bullripple, and, if I’m not a good deal mistaken, 
your father had a farm that he used to come out to in 
summer-time that is pretty nigh where I live, which 
is a couple of miles from Cherry Bridge.” 

Miss Stull, who at first had been a little shocked at 
being addressed by a stranger, now smiled and an- 
swered : “Oh, yes ; I remember you very well, although 
I never saw you before dressed in this way. You 
always wore a straw hat, and went about in your 
13 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


shirt sleeves. And you would never let us walk 
across your big grass field .’ 7 

“It wasn’t on account of your hurtin’ the grass,” 
said Mr. Bullripple, “for you couldn’t do that ; but I 
don’t like to see young gals in pastur’ fields where 
there’s ugly cattle. I hope you don’t bear me no 
grudge for keepin’ you out of danger.” 

“Oh, no,” said Miss Stull. “In fact, I’m much 
obliged to you.” 

When John People looked over the desk and saw 
his uncle talking to Miss Stull, he turned pale. This 
was a bond of union he had not imagined possible. 
He felt that his duty called upon him to protest. But 
when he saw the young lady entering into the con- 
versation with apparent willingness he made no 
motion to interfere, but stood staring at the two with 
such wide-eyed earnestness that a gentleman coming 
up to pay his bill had to rap twice on the desk before 
he gained John’s attention. 

“How’s your father?” said Mr. Bullripple. 

Miss Stull replied that he was quite well, and the 
other continued : “That’s my sister’s son over there, 
behind the desk. He pretty much runs this place, as 
far as I can make out, for whenever I come here I 
never see nothin’ of Yatoldi, who must do his work in 
the kitchen, if he does any. John’s mother used to 
have the farm your father owned afterward, and 
he was born there. But I guess you don’t know 
nothin’ about all that.” 

“Was that young man born at our farm? ” said Miss 
Stull, looking over toward John with the first glance 
of interest she had ever bestowed upon him. 

“Yes, that’s where he was born,” said Mr. Bull- 
14 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


ripple ; “but be lived with me when you was out 
there, and his mother, too, which she does yet ; and I 
wish John could get a chance to come out there some- 
times for a little country air. But Yatoldi keeps him 
screwed tight to his work, and it’s only now and then of 
a Sunday that we get sight of him, unless we come to 
town ourselves.” 

“That is very mean of Yatoldi,” said Miss Stull, 
rising, “for I am sure everybody ought to have a 
holiday now and then. Good morning, Mr. Bull- 
ripple.” 

As Miss Stull advanced toward the desk John 
People knew that she was going to speak to him. 
He felt this knowledge coming hot up into his cheeks, 
tingling among the resignation lines on his brow, and 
running like threads of electricity down his back and 
into his very knees, which did not seem to give him 
their usual stout and unyielding support. Whether 
it was from the manner of her walk, or the steady 
gaze of her eyes, or the expression of her mouth, that 
this knowledge came to him, it came correctly, for 
she had no sooner reached the desk and laid her 
money and her bill upon it than she said : 

“Your uncle tells me, sir, that you were born on 
the farm where we used to live, near Cherry Bridge.” 

“Yes, miss,” said John, “I was born there.” 

“Of course there is no reason why this should not 
have been so,” said Miss Stull, pushing her money 
toward John, “but, somehow or other, it seems odd 
to me. What is your name, please ? ” 

John told her, and as she slowly dropped her change 
into her pocket-book Miss Stull began to think. Had 
her father been there, he would not have been slow to 
15 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


take her aside and inform her that for a young lady 
in her position, with a coupe and pair waiting at the 
door, it was highly improper to stand and think by 
the desk in a restaurant, with a person like John 
People behind it. But Miss Stull was a young woman 
of a very independent turn of mind. She placed a 
good value on fashion and form and all that sort of 
thing, but she did not allow her social position to 
interfere too much with her own ideas of what was 
good for her. 

“ There was an old— lady,” she said presently, 
“whom I used to see very often, and her name was 
Mrs. People. I liked her better than your uncle. 
Was she your mother?” 

“Yes,” said John, “she is my mother.” 

“That is very nice,” remarked Miss Stull, and with 
a little nod she said, “Good morning, Mr. People,” and 
went out to her coupe. 

John smoothed out the bank-note which she had 
given him, and on the back of it he wrote “M. S.,” 
and put the day of the month and the year beneath 
it. He left a space between the two initials so he 
could put in the middle one when he found out what 
it was. Then he took a note of the same value from 
his pocket, and put it in the money-drawer, and fold- 
ing carefully the one he had received from Miss Stull, 
he placed it tenderly in an inner receptacle of his 
pocket-book. 


16 


CHAPTER II 

Me. Bullripple returned to Vatoldi’s about tbe 
middle of the afternoon to have a talk with his 
nephew, but the young man who had charge of the 
desk during this period of comparative inactivity 
told him that Mr. People had gone to the bank. 

Mr. Bullripple reflected for a moment. 

“Well, then,” said he, “I would like to see Mr. 
Vatoldi.” 

The young man behind the desk laughed. 

“There isn’t any such person,” said he. “That’s 
only the name of the place.” 

Mr. Bullripple looked at him fixedly. “I’d like to 
know, then,” he said, “who is at the head of this estab- 
lishment.” 

“Mr. People is. If you want to sell anything, or if 
you have got a bill to collect, you must go to him.” 

Mr. Bullripple was about to whistle, but he re- 
strained himself, his eyes sparkling as he put on his 
mental brakes. “Well, then,” he said, “I suppose I 
must wait till I can see Mr. People.” And, without 
further words, he left the place. 

“I suppose I might have waited,” said Enoch Bull- 
ripple, as he slowly strode up the street, “but, on the 
17 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


whole, I’d as lief not see John jes now. No Vatoldi, 
eh ? That’s a piece of news, I must say ! ” 

Mr. Bullripple did not try again to see his nephew 
that day. He spent the rest of the afternoon in at- 
tending to the business that brought him to the city $ 
and, about eight o’clock, he found himself in one of the 
up-town cross-streets, walking slowly, with a visiting- 
card in his hand, looking for a number that was printed 
thereon. He discovered it before long, but stopped, 
surprised. 

“It looks like a hotel,” he said. “But eighty-two 
is the number. There can’t be no mistake about 
that.” 

So saying, he mounted the few broad steps which 
led to the front door, and looked for a bell. The 
house was one of those large apartment-houses so 
popular in New York, but with mansions of this kind 
the old man was totally unfamiliar. He did not know 
that it was necessary to touch the button by the side 
of the doorway j but, while he was peering about, the 
hall-boy saw him from within, and admitted him. 
The house was not one of the largest and finest of its 
class, but its appointments were of a high order. The 
floor was inlaid with different colored marbles, and 
the walls and ceiling were handsomely decorated. 

“Does Mr. Horace Stratford live here?” asked Mr. 
Bullripple. 

“Yes,” said the boy, who was attired in a neat suit 
of brown clothes with brass buttons, “fifth floor. 
There’s the elevator.” 

The old man looked in at the door of the brightly 
lighted elevator, and then he glanced wistfully at the 
broad stairway which wound up beside it. But, re- 
18 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


peating to himself the words “fifth floor,” he entered 
the elevator. Thereupon a second hoy in brown 
clothes with brass buttons stepped in after him, closed 
the door, pulled the wire rope, and Enoch Bullripple 
made his first ascent in a machine of this kind. He 
did not like it. “HI come down by the stairs,” he 
said to himself ; “that is, if they run up that far.” 
Arrived at the fifth floor, the door was opened, and 
Enoch gladly stepped out, whereupon the elevator 
immediately descended to the depths below. To the 
right of the hall in which he now found himself was a 
door on which was a small brass plate bearing the 
name “H. Stratford.” On this door Mr. Bullripple 
knocked with his strong, well -hardened knuckles. 

The door was opened by an elderly serving-man, 
who came very quickly to see who it could be who 
would knock on the door instead of touching the 
electric bell-knob. Mr. Stratford was at home, and 
when the visitor had sent in his name he was, without 
delay, conducted to a large and handsome room, at 
the door of which Mr. Stratford met him with ex- 
tended hand. 

“Why, Enoch,” he said, “I am glad to see you. 
How do you do ? And how is Mrs. People 1 ” 

“Spry as common,” said Enoch. And putting down 
his hat and umbrella, he seated himself in a large 
easy- chair, which Mr. Stratford pushed toward him, 
and gazed around. 

The floor was covered with rich, heavy rugs ; furni- 
ture of antique beauty and modern luxury stood 
wherever it could find an inviting place ; the walls 
were hung with water-colors and etchings ; here and 
there appeared a bas-relief or a bit of old tapestry ; 

19 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


some book-shelves of various shapes and heights were 
crowded with volumes in handsome bindings, larger 
books stood upon the floor, while portfolios of en- 
gravings and illustrated books were piled up on a 
table in one corner of the room ; articles of oddity or 
beauty, picked up by a traveller in his wanderings, 
were scattered about on mantelpiece or cabinet-shelf j 
a wood fire blazed behind polished andirons and 
fender ; and, near by, a large table held a shaded 
lamp, some scattered books and journals, a jar of 
tobacco, and the amber-tipped pipe which Mr. Strat- 
ford had just laid down. Through a partly drawn 
portiere, which covered a wide doorway at one side 
of the room, could be caught a glimpse of another 
apartment, lighted and bright- walled ; and beyond the 
still open door by which the visitor had entered he 
saw across the handsome hall, with its polished floor 
and warm-hued rugs, other doors and glimpses of 
other rooms. Only the apartment in which he sat 
was open to view, but at every side there were sug- 
gestions of light, color, and extent. Everything was 
bright, warm, and akin to life and living. 

Mr. Bullripple put his broad hands upon his knees 
and gave his head a little jerk. “Well, this beats 
me ! ” he said. 

Mr. Stratford laughed. “You seem surprised, 
Enoch,” he said. “What is it that ‘ beats’ you?” 

“It isn’t the fine things,” said the old man, “nor 
the rooms, without no end to ’em as far as I can see, 
for, of course, if you’ve got money enough you can 
have ’em ; but it’s the idee that a man with a top- 
sawyer palace like this of his own should come up- 
country to Mrs. People and me, with our scrubbed 
20 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


floors and hard chairs, and nothin’ prettier than a 
tea company’s chromo in our best room.” 

“Now, come,” said Mr. Stratford, “that won’t do, 
Enoch, that won’t do. Yonr house is a very pleasant 
old farm-house, and I am sure that Mrs. People makes 
my room as comfortable and as cosey as a fisherman 
and country stroller should need. And besides, I 
don’t come to your house for things like these,” wav- 
ing his hand before him as he spoke ; “I can buy them 
with money ; but what I get when I come up to your 
country can’t be bought.” 

“That’s true as to part of it,” said Mr. Bullripple. 
“The victuals and the lodgin’ you do pay for, but the 
takin’ in as one of us, and the dividing up our family 
consarns with you, jes as free as we quarter a pie and 
give you one of the pieces, is somethin’ that’s not for 
sale neither by me nor Mrs. People. And if you can 
stand our hard boards and country fixin’s after all this 
king-and-queen furnitur’, we’ll be mighty glad to have 
you keep on cornin’. And that’s one of the things 
that brought me here to-night. I wanted to ask you 
if we was to expect you when the summer shows signs 
of bein’ on hand f ” 

“Oh, yes,” said Mr. Stratford, “I certainly expect to 
be with you this summer, and as early as usual. Has 
anybody caught that old trout in the meadow brook ? ” 

“No, sir,” said Enoch. “I have seen him already 
this year, and he’s jes as smart and knowin’ as ever. 
Now, I take you into the family, Mr. Stratford, jes 
the same as to that trout as to any of our other con- 
sarns. If you ketch him, he’s yourn ; if I ketch him, 
he’s mine. It’ll be fair play between us, and I’ll wait 
till you come. I wouldn’t do more’n that for no man.” 

21 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“No, I don’t believe you would,” said Mr. Stratford, 
earnestly. 

“There’s another thing I want to ask you about,” 
said Enoch, “and I will get through with it as soon as 
I can, for I don’t want to keep you up too late talkin’ 
about my affairs.” 

“Up too late ! ” said Mr. Stratford. And he smiled 
as he looked at the clock. 

“I suppose you don’t mind,” said Mr. Bullripple, 
“settin’ up till ten or eleven, but I do ; and so I’ll get 
right at it. What I want to say is about my nephew, 
John People.” 

“Your sister’s son? ” said Mr. Stratford. “Is he still 
cashier at Vatoldi’s?” 

“Yes,” said Mr. Bullripple. “He’s that, and pretty 
much everythin’ besides, as far as I can see. I don’t 
know that he washes the dishes, but I’m sure he sees 
that it’s done. You don’t happen to know Vatoldi? ” 

“No,” said Mr. Stratford. “I seldom go there, as 
the place is generally crowded with ladies about the 
middle of the day, the only time I would be likely to 
drop in j and I don’t suppose I should ever see the 
man, if I did go. Is your nephew in any trouble f ” 

“No,” said the other, “he don’t seem to be. It’s 
me and his mother that’s in the trouble. It’s our 
opinion he works too hard and gets too little. We’d 
like to see him come out to the farm sometimes to 
take some sniffs of the air he was born in, but he never 
gets no time for that, and as for makin’ money, I’m 
sure he’s not doin’ it. Now, I thought that perhaps 
you might know Mr. Yatoldi, and could tell me what 
sort of man he is, so I could know what sort of ground 
I’m standin’ on when I go to speak to him. Perhaps 
22 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


you might have heard somethin’ about him that would 
help to put me on the right track f ” 

Mr. Stratford reflected for a moment before answer- 
ing. “No,” said he, “I know nothing about the man 
whatever. But let me give you a piece of advice, 
friend Enoch. If it is considered well to say anything 
to your nephew’s employer about the young man’s 
duties and his pay, let him say it himself. You can 
talk to him about it, and then let him speak to Va- 
toldi. It is a bad thing, for all parties, for mothers 
and uncles to undertake to arrange the business affairs 
of persons as old as your nephew. He must be 
twenty-five.” 

“He’s all of that,” said Enoch, “and it’s time he 
was doin’ better. But I won’t trouble you no more 
about him. Since you don’t know Vatoldi, there’s 
nothin’ more for us to say about that. I’ve found 
out that you’re cornin’ to the farm this summer, and 
that’s enough business for one night, and pretty nigh 
bedtime, too.” Mr. Bullripple arose, and took up 
his hat and umbrella. “Now I come to think of 
it,” he said, “have you found your hundredth man 
yet?” 

“No,” answered Mr. Stratford, with a smile, “I 
can’t say that I have ; but I have a fancy that I’m on 
his track, and that I may come up with him before 
very long.” 

“I often ketch myself laughin’ out loud,” said Mr. 
Bullripple, “and I hope I won’t never do it in church, 
when I think of your chasin’ after that hundredth 
man. You make a dive at a feller and ketch him by 
the leg, and hold him up and look at him, and then 
you say, ‘No, he’s not the one,’ and drop him, and go 
23 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

after somebody else. I don’t believe you’ll ever get 
him.” 

“I suppose the idea seems very odd to you, Enoch,” 
said Mr. Stratford, “but when I find my man I’ll tell 
you all about him.” 

“When they told me down-stairs that you lived on 
the fifth floor,” said Mr. Bullripple, as he stepped into 
the private hall and gazed about him at the tall clock, 
the antique chairs, the trophy-covered walls, the 
many-hued glass of the great lantern which hung 
above him, and the partly curtained doorways here 
and there, “I had a sort o’ pity for you for havin’ to 
lodge up so near the top of the house. But it don’t 
appear to me now that you’re in need of pity.” 

“No,” said Mr. Stratford, “not in that regard, at 
any rate. As I own the whole house, I might have 
had any floor I chose, but this one seemed to suit me 
better than the others, being high and airy, and yet 
not quite at the top of the house. There are two 
floors above me.” 

“You own this whole house !” exclaimed Mr. Bull- 
ripple. “Well, upon my word !” For a moment he 
stood still, and then he resumed : “I was thinkin’, as 
I was sittin’ in there, that I’d get Mrs. People to buy 
some bits of fancified carpets, and to hang up some 
more pictur’s and things about the house. But I guess 
now we’d better pull up and take down everything of 
the sort we’ve got. I should say that after all this 
you’d like us better in bare boards than with any sort 
of fixin’s we could rig up.” 

“Now, listen to me, friend Enoch,” said Mr. Strat- 
ford. “If you and your sister make any changes in 
that delightful old farm-house which I know so well, 
24 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


I’ll get up in the middle of the night and catch your 
big trout, and never give you a chance to measure or 
weigh him.” 

“All right,” said old Enoch, with a grin. “I guess 
you’ll find us jes as you left us.” 

“Are you not going to take the elevator? ” said Mr. 
Stratford, as his visitor, after shaking hands with him, 
stepped briskly toward the stairway. 

“No,” said the old man, “I like my legs better.” 
And down-stairs he went. 

“Now,” said Mr. Bullripple to himself, when he 
was out upon the sidewalk, “I think I’ll follow the 
advice Mr. Stratford give me not to speak to old Va- 
toldi, for I don’t believe there’s any such man j but I 
won’t let on to John that I’ve got any idee of that 
kind. I’ll look into things a little more before I do 
that.” 

Horace Stratford returned to his library, his study, 
or his parlor, whatever one might choose to call the 
room in which he took his ease or did his work, as 
the case might be, and, resuming his seat by the table, 
he lighted his pipe. He was a man of thirty years, or 
something more ; young enough to do what he pleased, 
and old enough to think what he pleased. To these 
two pursuits he devoted his life. Possessed of a fair 
fortune, he invested nearly the whole of it in this 
apartment-house, which had been built according to 
his own ideas, and which yielded him a satisfying 
income. He was not a foolishly eccentric man, nor a 
selfish one, but he lived for himself, and in his own 
way. However, if a time came for him to live for 
other people, he did so cheerfully, but he always did 
it in his own way. 


25 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


There were those who looked upon him as an old 
bachelor 5 others thought of him as a good match; 
others, again, considered him as a hard-headed fellow 
whom it would be very unpleasant to live with. But 
the latter were persons who had never lived with him. 

Horace Stratford was not an idler. He was a man 
of ideas, and his principal business in life was to work 
out these ideas, either to please or benefit himself, or 
for the pleasure or benefit of others. 

At present he was engaged in the study of a char- 
acter, or, it might be better said, in the search for a 
character. It had come to him, in the course of his 
reading and thought, that in every hundred books on 
a kindred subject, in every hundred crimes of a similar 
kind, in every hundred events of a like nature, and in 
every hundred men who may come within one’s cog- 
nizance, there is one book, crime, circumstance, or 
man which stands up above and distinct from the 
rest, preeminent in the fact that no one of the others 
is, or could have been like it. 

Horace Stratford’s immediate occupation was the 
discovery of a hundredth man among his present 
friends and associates. This man, when found, was to 
be the central figure in a piece of literary work he 
had in mind. As the tests he applied were severe 
ones, he already had had several disappointments. 
Ho one of the persons he had selected had been able 
to maintain against his ninety-nine competitors the 
position in the regard of the investigator to which he 
had been temporarily exalted. 

Mr. Stratford sat reading and smoking until about 
ten o’clock, when he was called upon by a young man 
in full evening dress, with an overcoat on his arm and 
26 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


a crush hat in his hand. This gentleman had just 
descended in the elevator from the seventh, or top, 
floor, and he had dropped in upon Mr. Stratford for 
a few minutes’ conversation before going out. He 
was a younger man than Stratford, moderately good- 
looking, somewhat slight in figure, and a little care- 
worn in expression. His dress was extremely correct, 
according to the fashion of the day; his collar was 
very high, and his patent-leather boots were observ- 
ably pointed in the region of the toes. 

Stratford was glad to see his visitor. “Will you 
have a pipe or cigar ? ” he asked. 

“Neither, thank you,” said the other. “I have 
given up smoking.” 

“Thorne, you astonish me!” exclaimed Stratford. 
“Ho you find it injurious to you? ” 

“Oh, no,” replied Mr. Thorne. “You know I never 
smoked very much.” 

“You were the most moderate smoker I ever knew,” 
exclaimed Stratford, “with remarkably good taste in 
regard to tobacco ; and smoking always seemed to give 
you so much actual pleasure.” 

“That is all very true,” said Mr. Thorne j “but, in 
thinking of the matter, I have come to the conclusion 
that a man who goes into the society that I go into 
should not smoke. A cigar after dinner is sure to 
leave some scent upon one, and one should not carry 
that into a lady’s drawing-room.” 

“If I were you,” said Stratford, “I’d give up the 
society rather than the cigar j but I think it is not 
necessary to do either. I smoke as much as I like 
and I go into society whenever I please, and I have 
no reason to believe that I am found objectionable.” 

27 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“It is the right thing to do/’ persisted Mr. Thorne. 
“I came to that conclusion day before yesterday, and 
gave up smoking from that date, with a box of cigars 
on my shelf which I had just opened.” 

Mr. Stratford made no answer, but for a few mo- 
ments gazed steadily at the fire. If almost any young 
man of his acquaintance had told him that two days 
before he had given up smoking, he would have paid 
little attention to the statement, and would have ex 
pected to see that young man in a week or two with 
a cigar in his mouth. But if Arthur Thorne said he 
had given up this indulgence he believed that he 
would never smoke again. 

“Going out?” presently remarked Stratford. “I 
should think you’d get dreadfully tired of that sort of 
thing.” 

“I do,” said Mr. Thorne, “but, of course, it has to 
be done. Have you been buying anything lately?” 
he said, looking around the room. 

“Nothing but experience,” said Stratford, “and that 
is not on exhibition.” 

Mr. Thorne now put on his overcoat and departed. 
He had had nothing particular to say to Stratford, and 
had called merely because he considered it his duty 
to look in occasionally on his friend. 

Mr. Arthur Thorne occupied apartments on the 
upper floor of this house. His rooms were not so ex- 
tensive as those of Stratford, nor so richly furnished $ 
but every detail of their appointments had been care- 
fully studied by Thorne, and executed or arranged 
under his own supervision. The floors were stained 
a dull red, and upon them were spread Kensington 
rugs of the most sombre green and unimpassioned 
28 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


yellow, mingled here and there with a streak of rusty 
black. The walls were clay-color; some red clay, 
some yellow clay, and some of an ashen-gray hue such 
as you find in very poor sections of the country where 
farms are cheap. The doors and woodwork were also 
colored in various shades of mud and clay. At the 
windows were heavy curtains of sad browns or yellows. 
Some of his furniture was antique, consisting of pieces 
which he had “picked up” after long and anxious 
searches. But much of it was modern, and invariably 
of that class in which the construction is plainly visible. 
He had a large rocking-chair, the back formed of nar- 
row rods and the bottom of a polished board. Other 
chairs stood up as strong, as right-angled, and as hard 
as the character of the Puritans who used the chairs 
from which these were copied. On his mantelpiece 
stood a vase of white roses which had been dead a 
month or more, but which were kept with great care, 
because Mr. Thorne knew that there was a certain 
harmony in their tones which they had never possessed 
while living. There were etchings on the walls, most 
of them tacked up without frames, and some with a 
loose corner carefully curled, so as to give the appear- 
ance of conventional ease. There were Japanese fans, 
but all of a subdued tone, and over the corners of pict- 
ures and by the sides of shelves hung pieces of dra- 
pery, all of them suggesting the idea that they 
had once been used by Arabs, and had not since 
been washed. 

Along one side of the room was a row of book- 
shelves, to which easy access could be had by getting 
down on one’s knees. These shelves were mostly filled 
with courses of reading, many of which Mr. Thorne 
29 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


had begun, and some were nearly finished. His apart- 
ments consisted of several rooms, and throughout all 
of these one perceived the same harmony of tone. 
Nowhere was there a single touch or point of bright 
color to break in upon the lugubrious unison of the 
saddened hues which Mr. Thorne believed to be de- 
manded by true art. 

Unless it happened to be very cold or stormy, Mr. 
Thorne walked every morning to his office, a distance 
of some three miles, wearing no overcoat, and carrying 
a heavy cane in his hand. He was not a very strong 
man, and this morning exercise frequently interfered 
with that freshness of mind and body with which he 
liked to apply himself to his work, but he knew it was 
the right kind of thing to do, and he did it. On cer- 
tain afternoons in the week he hired a horse, and rode 
in the park ; and this he did with a serious earnestness 
which showed that he was conscientiously endeavor- 
ing to do his duty by his physical self. Abstractly he 
cared little for dancing, much preferring a partner on 
a chair by his side to whom he could quietly talk ; but 
he had devoted a great deal of attention and hard 
work to the study of the “german,” believing that a 
knowledge of that complicated dance was essential to 
the education of a gentleman of his age and position 
in society. 

To the requirements of what he believed to be the 
spirit of the nineteenth century, Arthur Thorne gave 
zealous heed. He was fond of novels and the ballads 
of Macaulay, but he read Spencer and Huxley and 
Kuskin, and was a steady student of Rosetti and 
Browning. The Proper, in his eyes, was a powerful 
policeman, leading by the collar a weeping urchin, 
30 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

who represented the personal inclinations of Arthur 
Thorne. 

There were times when Mr. Stratford believed that 
he would yet find his hundredth man in Enoch Bull- 
ripple or in Arthur Thorne. u Neither of them,” he 
said to himself, “has yet done anything which entitles 
him to preeminence among his fellows, but I believe 
they possess qualities which, under favoring circum- 
stances, would send one or the other of them to that 
unique position, which becomes every day more inter- 
esting to me.” 


31 


CHAPTER III 


The village of Cherry Bridge was little more than a 
hamlet, lying on the banks of Cherry Creek, which 
came down from the mountains some five or six miles 
behind the village, and twisted itself, often very pict- 
uresquely, between the hills and through the wood- 
lands of the lower country. Three miles from the 
village, between the creek and the mountain, lay the 
farm of Enoch Bullripple ; and about four o’clock on 
the afternoon of a June day, Mr. Horace Stratford 
stood on the farm-house porch, with Mrs. People, 
Enoch’s sister, by his side. He had arrived at the 
place the day before, and was now going out for his 
first drive. His horse, a large, well-formed chestnut, 
with good roadster blood in him, stood near the porch, 
harnessed to a comfortable vehicle for two persons. 
This was, apparently, an ordinary buggy, but had 
been constructed, with a number of improvements of 
Mr. Stratford’s own designing, for use on the diversi- 
fied surface of the country about Cherry Bridge. The 
equipage had been sent from the city a day or two 
before, but this was the first time Mrs. People had 
seen it in its entirety, and she gazed at it with much 
interest. 

Mrs. People was a pleasant-faced personage of about 
32 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


forty-five, whose growth had seemed to incline rather 
more toward circumference than altitude. She was 
dressed neatly, hut with a decided leaning toward ease 
in the arrangement of her garments. 

“That’s a better horse than you had last year, Mr. 
Stratford,” she said ; “an’ I expect you’ll get tired of 
a day’s driving as soon as he does. He stands well 
without hitchin’, too ; but you’d better take a tie-strap 
along with you to-day, for Mrs. Justin has got one of 
them little dust-brush dogs that seems to have been 
born with a spite against horses. She brought him 
from town with her, an’ he even started old Janet 
when I drove there last Saturday.” 

“Why do you think I am going to Mrs. Justin’s?” 
asked Mr. Stratford. 

“Goodness ! ” exclaimed Mrs. People, suddenly turn- 
ing the plenitude of her countenance upon him, “you 
don’t mean to say that you’ve quarrelled ? ” 

“Of course not,” answered Mr. Stratford, “but it 
seems odd that you should take it as a matter of course 
that I should go there the first time I drive out.” 

“I’m sure I never thought of anything else,” said 
Mrs. People ; “an’ besides, you’ll be obliged to go, be- 
cause I told her you were cornin’. I was at the store 
in the village yesterday mornin’, when she drove up, 
an’ says I to her, ‘Mrs. Justin, you’ll have another 
visitor to-morrow, for Mr. Stratford sent up his horse 
an’ buggy yesterday, an’ he’ll be here himself to-night, 
an’ he’ll drive over to your house to-morrow after- 
noon. I’m not dead sure that he won’t come in the 
mornin’, but I don’t think he will, because the after- 
noon is his time for goin’ to see people, an’ not dis- 
turbin’ ’em before dinner when they’re busy with their 
33 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

own concerns.’ So, you see, she’ll be expectin’ you, 
Mr. Stratford. An’, knowin’ that, I never doubted 
you’d go.” 

Mr. Stratford smiled. “I shall certainly go now, 
Mrs. People,” he said, “even if I had not intended to 
go before. But what did you mean when you said 
that Mrs. Justin would have another visitor? ” 

“I meant she’s got two now. They was in the car- 
riage with her. One was a young girl, not twenty, I 
should say, settin’ on the back seat with her. The 
other was a gentleman of some kind ; young, I think, 
but I couldn’t see him very well, havin’ his back 
turned to me, lookin’ at Mr. Pritchett with the hind 
wheel of his hay- wagon broke an’ a rail tied under. 
From the way his back moved I think he wanted to 
tell Mr. Pritchett what to do, but he didn’t, an’ Mrs. 
Justin she said she’d be glad to see you, mornin’ or 
afternoon. An’ then that harelipped young man 
that David Betts has hired to help him in his store 
came out to get her orders, an’ I left without bein’ 
made acquainted with her company, for, of all things, 
I think it’s the meanest to stop an’ listen to what 
your neighbor is orderin’ at the store, an’ then go 
about wonderin’ why they don’t order more of one 
thing an’ get it cheaper, or go without some other 
thing, or else make it themselves at home, which, ten 
to one, they couldn’t, not knowin’ how, an’ even if 
they did know, it would cost ’em more to make it than 
buy it, they knowin’ their own business, anyhow, 
better’n anybody else.” 

“Well,” said Mr. Stratford, going down the porch 
steps, “I am not sure that I am glad to hear that 
Mrs. Justin has strangers with her; and I shall re- 
34 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

member what you said, Mrs. People, about tying my 
horse.” 

Mrs. Justin owned the only house in the region of 
Cherry Bridge which could rightly be termed a coun- 
try mansion. It was spacious and handsome, sur- 
rounded by well-kept grounds, gardens, and great 
trees, and the prettiest part of Cherry Creek, or, as 
Mrs. Justin always persisted in calling it, Cherry 
River, flowed tranquilly at the bottom of the lawn. 
A mile away, on the other side of the creek, lay the 
farm on which John People was born, and which now 
belonged to Mr. Stull. The house had been remodelled 
and enlarged, but the Stull family had ceased to come 
there in the summer-time. The constantly increasing 
elevation of their social position rendered the fashion- 
able watering-places much more suitable summer 
residences than this out-of-the-way country place, 
which was now leased to a farmer. 

Mrs. Justin had no neighbors on whom she could 
depend for social intercourse. There was a clergyman 
at the railroad town, eight miles away, and a doctor’s 
family in the village, and she saw a good deal of Mr. 
Stratford, who usually spent a portion of his summer 
at the Bullripple farm. But when Mrs. Justin wanted 
company, she invited her friends to her house, and 
thus, during her residence in this summer home, she 
held the reins of her social relations in her own hands. 
She came here every year because she loved the place 
for its own sake, and because it was the home in which 
her late husband had taken such pride and delight. 
This husband, a good deal older than Mrs. Justin, had 
died some four years ago, and although the world 
was now obliged to look upon Mrs. Justin as a widow, 
35 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


she did not consider herself in that light. To her it 
was as if she had married again, — married the memory 
of her husband,— and to this memory she was as con- 
stant as she had been to the man himself. She was 
still young and charming to look upon, and there 
had been those who had ventured to hint at the pos 
sibility that she might marry again ; but the freezing 
sternness with which the slightest of these hints had 
been received had warned all who wished to continue 
to be her friends not to put their feet upon her sacred 
ground. There was not a man who knew her well 
enough to like her well, who now would have dared 
to tell her he loved her, any more than he would have 
dared to tell her so during the lifetime of her husband. 

Mrs. Justin had her life-work, in which she took 
a warm and enduring interest. The object of her 
thought and labor, especially during that part of the 
year which she spent in the city, was the higher edu- 
cation of woman ; and her plans for carrying out this 
purpose were very effectual, but of a simple and quiet 
nature. She belonged to a society which did not have 
for its object the establishment of colleges or similar 
institutions for young women, but aimed solely to 
assist, in the most private and unobtrusive way, those 
who wished to enjoy the advantages of such institu- 
tions as already existed, and were not able to do so. 
Many a girl who had gone through college with high 
honors would never have been able to touch the hem 
of a freshman’s dress had it not been for the unseen 
but entirely sufficient support afforded by the associa- 
tion of which Mrs. Justin was the head and front. 

In this enterprise Horace Stratford had long been 
a hearty fellow- worker, and many of its best results 
36 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


were due to his interest in its object, and knowledge 
of men and things. He had known Mrs. Justin’s hus- 
band, and it was on his account that he had first come 
into this region; and now, for some years, he had 
made a home in the Bullripple house, which stood in 
the midst of a country which especially suited his 
summer moods. 

Mrs. Justin and Stratford had been sitting on her 
piazza for about ten minutes when he remarked : “I 
thought you had visitors here.” 

“So I have,” said Mrs. Justin, “but they have gone 
for a walk. One of them is Gay Armatt. You re- 
member her, don’t you?” 

“I remember the name, but not the person.” 

“You ought to remember her,” said Mrs. Justin. 
“I expect her to be the brightest jewel in my crown, 
if I ever get one. She is the girl we sent to Astley 
University, and she has just been graduated ahead of 
everybody— young men as well as her sister students.” 

“What are her strong points?” asked Stratford. 

“Mathematics and classics,” answered Mrs. Justin, 
“and the present ambition of her life is to continue 
her studies and get the degree of Ph.D. ; and knowing 
her as well as I do, I believe she will succeed.” 

“I now remember hearing of the girl,” said Strat- 
ford. “But who is your other visitor?” 

“That is Mr. Crisman, to whom Gay is engaged to 
be married.” 

“Indeed!” exclaimed Mr. Stratford. “I must say 
the young lady does not seem to be idling away any 
of her time. How old is she ? And was this man her 
fellow-student?” 

“She is over twenty,” said Mrs. Justin, “and Mr. 

37 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Crisman is not a student at all. He is in business in 
the city. They have been engaged for more than a 
year, and will be married next winter. And now, 
how much more do you want to know ? I see by your 
looks that you are not satisfied.” 

“I like to know as much as possible about people 
with whom I am going to associate,” said Stratford, 
“and I cannot help wondering why you have those 
young persons here.” 

“Gay’s family live in Maryland,” said Mrs. Justin, 
“but I did not want her to go down there this summer. 
I think her relatives have an idea that she has studied 
enough, and I am afraid of their influence upon her. 
Here she will have every opportunity to work as much 
as any one ought to in the summer-time $ and I flatter 
myself that my influence will be good for her. I be- 
lieve that Gay has an exceptionably fine future before 
her, and I don’t intend to drop her until I see her 
enter upon it. And I couldn’t invite her here with- 
out asking Mr. Crisman to come and spend his Sundays 
with her, and his vacation, when he gets it, which will 
be in August, I think. He would have done all that 
if she had gone to Maryland.” 

“But haven’t you any fears,” asked Stratford, “that 
the girl’s marriage will be an effectual extinguisher to 
this brilliant future that you talk of? ” 

“Hot in the least,” answered Mrs. Justin, warmly. 
“That has all been settled. Gay and I have talked 
it over, and we have planned out everything. The 
marriage is not to interfere in the least with her 
studies and her future vocation in life. There is no 
earthly reason why it should, and I shall be very glad 
to see another proof in support of the fact that a 
38 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


woman need not remain a spinster in order to become 
eminent in art, science, or anything else. Here they 
are now.” And the young couple coming up the steps 
of the piazza, Mr. Stratford was made acquainted with 
them. 

After a few minutes’ conversation Miss Armatt and 
her companion went into the house, and Mr. Stratford, 
as he arose to take leave of Mrs. Justin, remarked : 
“Did I understand you to say that girl is over twenty? 
She doesn’t look it.” 

“She was nearly seventeen when I first met her, 
four years ago,” said Mrs. Justin, “and she was then 
better grounded in mathematics than most students of 
twenty. How do you like her?” 

“As far as looks go I think she is charming,” said 
Mr. Stratford. 

“And you will like her just as much in every other 
way,” said Mrs. Justin, as she shook hands with him. 
“Don’t forget that you are to dine with us to-mor- 
row.” 

Mrs. Justin’s country dinner-hour was three o’clock ; 
and after that meal was over, the next day, Stratford 
and Mr. Crisman sat together for an hour, smok- 
ing and talking. Mr. Crisman did most of the talking, 
and he told his companion a great deal about himself 
and his business, and also stated a good many opinions 
he had formed in regard to the public questions of 
the day. Mr. Stratford did not say much, but he 
smoked very steadily, and was an admirable listener. 

“Well,” said Crisman, when, at last, he rose and 
whisked away with his handkerchief some fallen ashes 
from his coat, “I am going to look up Miss Armatt, 
and see if we can’t have a row on that little river, as 
39 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Mrs. Justin calls it, although I should say it would 
have to grow a great deal before it would have a right 
to that name. I have got to make the most of my 
time, you know, as I start back to town early to- 
morrow morning.’ 7 

“You will find the navigation of the creek rather 
difficult,” said Mr. Stratford, “until you understand 
its windings and its shallows.” 

“Oh, I don’t mind that sort of thing ! ” exclaimed 
Crisman. “If we stick fast anywhere, I’ll roll up my 
trousers, jump out, and push her off. I’m used to 
roughing it.” 

Stratford said no more, but he noticed that shortly 
afterward Miss Armatt and her fiance started for 
a stroll in the woods, and did not go upon the 
water. 

Early on Monday Mr. Crisman went away to re- 
sume his weekly business career in the city ; and on 
Tuesday morning Mr. Stratford found himself again at 
Mrs. Justin’s house. He came this time on business, 
as the lady wished to consult him in regard to some 
plans she was making for future work. Miss Gay, 
being left to her own companionship, concluded to 
take a walk along the shaded banks of the Cherry 
River. There was no doubt in her mind as to the 
propriety of this designation. Her affection for Mrs. 
Justin was so warm that if that lady had called the 
little stream a lake, Gay Armatt would have thought 
of it only as Cherry Lake. 

No one who did not know Miss Gay, and who now 
saw her strolling by the waterside, would have con- 
nected her in his mind with differential calculus or 
Sophocles in the original. In coloring she somewhat 
40 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


resembled Mrs. Justin, having light hair and dark 
eyes ; but there the similarity ceased, for one was some- 
what tall, with the grace of a woman, and the other 
was somewhat short, with the grace of a girl. 

Miss Gay was in a very cheery mood as she slowly 
made her way under the trees and the sometimes too 
familiarly bending bushes which bordered the banks 
of the stream, and stopping now and then in some 
open space where the glorious sun of June sprinkled 
his gold on the leaves and the water, and filled the 
petals of the wild flowers that moved their fragile 
stems in the gentle breeze with a warm purple light. 
She had a secret this morning ; it was not much of a 
secret, but it was too much for her to keep to herself ; 
she must tell it to some one or some thing. A little 
bird sat on the twig of a tree, which still swayed on 
account of the youthful haste with which he had 
alighted upon it. Gay stood still and looked at 
him. 

“Little bird,” she said, “I will tell you my secret. 
I must tell it to somebody, and I know it will be safe 
with you. This is my birthday, and I am twenty-one 
years old. I wouldn’t tell Mrs. Justin, because she 
would have been sure to make me a present, or do 
something for me on account of the day, and she has 
done so much for me already that I wouldn’t have her 
do that. But I can tell you, little bird, and be quite 
sure that you won’t think that I expect you to give 
me anything.” 

The little bird bobbed his head around and looked 
at her with one eye ; then he bobbed it again and 
looked at her with the other ; after which he fluffed 
up his breast-feathers with an air as though he would 
41 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


say : “So old as that ! I am sure you don’t look it ! ” 
And then he pressed his feathers down over the secret 
and flew away. 

Miss Gay walked on. “This is the most charming 
birthday I ever had/’ she said. “I think it is because 
I feel so free, and so glad that I have got through 
with all that hard study. And now I am going to 
breathe a little before I begin again, and I want every 
one of you to know— birds over there on the other 
side of the river, butterflies on the bank, and dragon- 
flies skimming about over the surface of the water, 
yes, and even the fish which I can see whisking them- 
selves around down there, and you, whatever you 
were who flopped into the water just ahead of me 
without letting me see you, as if I would hurt you, 
you foolish thing !— I want you all to know what a 
charming thing it is to breathe a little before you 
begin again $ though I don’t believe any of you ever 
do begin again, but just keep on always with what 
you have to do.” 

And so she walked on until the stream made a 
sudden bend to the left, and then she took a path 
which led through the trees to the right, into the 
open fields, where she strolled over the grass and by 
the hedge-rows, inhaling, as she went, all the tender 
odors of the youth of summer. Her course now 
turned toward the house and the farm buildings, and 
after clambering over a rail fence she soon saw before 
her a large barn-yard, in the midst of which stood a 
towering straw-stack, glistening in the sun. Unlatch- 
ing the wide gate, she entered the yard, and stood 
upon the clean straw which had been spread over its 
surface, gazing upon the stack. 

42 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


This little mountain of wheat-stalks had probably- 
stood there all winter, but fresh straw from the barn 
had recently been thrown out upon it, and it looked 
as sweet and clean and bright as though it had just 
been piled up fresh from the harvest-field. 

Then spoke up the happy soul of the girl and said 
to her : “What a perfectly lovely straw-stack for a 
slide ! ” It had been years since Gay had slidden 
down a stack, but all the joys of those rapturous 
descents came back to her as she stood and gazed. 
Then her eyes began to sparkle, and the longings of 
youth held out their arms and drew her toward the 
stack. 

She looked here, and she looked there. She looked 
toward the barn $ all the windows and doors were 
closed. She looked toward the fields and the house ; 
not a person was in sight. Not a living creature did 
she see, save two gray pullets scratching in a corner 
of the yard. It is not an easy thing to climb the slip- 
pery sides of a straw-stack, but Gay had once been 
proficient in the art, and her hands and feet had not 
lost their cunning. There was some difficult scram- 
bling and some retrogressions, but she was full of vigor 
and strong intent, and she soon stood upon the summit, 
her cheeks and lips in fullest bloom, and her whole 
body beating with the warm pride of success. Her 
hat had fallen off in the ascent, but she tossed back 
her ruffled hair, and thought nothing of this mishap. 
She looked up to the blue sky, and out upon the green 
fields, and then down upon the smooth sides of the 
stack which sloped beneath her. 

Now a little cloud spread itself over her counte- 
nance. “Gabriella Armatt,” she said to herself, “is it 
43 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


proper for you to slide down this stack? That was 
all very well when you were a girl, but think of it 
now .’ 7 Then she thought for a moment, and the cloud 
passed away, and she spoke for herself: “Yes, I am 
really and truly a girl yet,” she said. “This is my 
birthday, and only the morning of it. I shall never 
have such a chance as this again, and I oughtn’t to 
take it, if it comes. Yes, I will have one slide down 
this stack ! And that will be the very end of my 
existence as a girl ! ” 

Mrs. Justin and Mr. Stratford had finished their 
business and were walking across the lawn toward the 
barn. Suddenly Stratford stopped as they were pass- 
ing under the shade of a wide-spreading tree. 

“Is that Miss Armatt on the top of that straw- 
stack?” he asked. 

Mrs. Justin also stopped. “Why, surely, it is ! ” 
she said. “And how in the world did she get up 
there?” 

“Climbed up, I suppose,” said Mr. Stratford, “after 
the fashion of boys and girls. Doesn’t she look 
charming standing up there in the bright sun- 
light?” 

“Her pedestal is too insecure,” said Mrs. Justin. 
“If she steps too much to one side or the other that 
straw will give way beneath her, and she will have a 
fall.” 

Mrs. Justin was just about to call out in a voice of 
warning, but she suddenly checked herself. At that 
moment Miss Gay sat down on the extreme edge of 
the top of the stack, and then, as a gull makes its swift 
downward swoop through the clear morning air to 
the glittering ocean crests, so Gay slid down the long 
44 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

side of that straw-stack from girlhood into woman- 
hood. 

As she arrived at the bottom, a mass of pink and 
white, and tumbled hair, Mrs. Justin ejaculated, 
“Well!” But Horace Stratford said nothing $ and 
the two walked on. 


45 


CHAPTER IV 


On the day after Gay Armatt’s birthday Mr. Stratford 
went fishing near the foot of the mountains, and he 
brought back a very fair string of trout ; but on the 
following day, which was Thursday, he drove over to 
Mrs. Justin’s place, and found the two ladies engaged 
in setting up a target on the lawn, where they were 
going to practice archery. He received a warm wel- 
come, for Mrs. Justin knew him as a good bowman, 
and he speedily took the arrangement of the target 
and the stringing of the bows into his own hands. 

It was not long before he found that the course of 
studies at Miss Armatt’s college had not included 
archery, and that, although she had a good eye and a 
strong arm, she knew but little of the use of the bow 
and arrow. Mrs. Justin was an excellent archer, and 
needed no assistance, and although Stratford took his 
shots when his turn came, he gave the most of his 
time to the tuition of Miss Armatt. He informed her 
—and in a manner which seemed as if he were telling 
her something she had once known and now forgotten 
—how she must stand, how she must throw back her 
shoulders and advance her left foot, how she must draw 
the feathered end of the arrow back to her little ear, 
how she must set her eye upon the target and her 
46 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


mind upon the arrow. Once he found it necessary to 
place her fingers properly around the string. But 
whatever he did and whatever he told her was done 
and said with such a courteous, almost deferential 
manner that the relation of teacher to pupil scarcely 
suggested itself. It seemed rather as if Gay and Mr. 
Stratford were partners in a match against Mrs. Justin, 
and that they were helping each other. 

When he had gone, Gay Armatt expressed a high 
opinion of Mr. Stratford. He seemed to know so much, 
and was so kind and gentle and pleasant in his way 
of telling people how to do things. And to this re- 
mark Mrs. Justin answered that she knew of no one 
who was more of a gentleman at heart than Horace 
Stratford. 

Whereupon Miss Gay had an idea, down at the 
bottom of her mind, about a certain relation that she 
thought would be very suitable indeed, and which 
gave her pleasure to think of. But nothing would 
have induced her to mention this idea to Mrs. Justin. 

Mr. Stratford came no more to the Justin mansion 
until Sunday, when he stayed to dinner and spent the 
afternoon. Mr. Crisman was there, and he and Miss 
Armatt were very glad to see a visitor, for it was a 
rainy day, and there could be no strolling through the 
woods ; but with some one to talk to Mrs. Justin in 
the library, there was no reason why the two younger 
people should not wander off into some other part of 
the house, and stay away as long as they pleased. 

In the evening, however, they were all together, 
and Mr. Stratford, with that courtesy which was char- 
acteristic of him, yielded the floor, during the greater 
part of the time, to the younger man. Mrs. Justin 
47 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


expressed the hope that Mr Crisman might arrange 
matters so that he could arrive earlier in the day when 
he returned on the following Saturday. In that case, 
they could make up a croquet party of four for the 
afternoon. Croquet was a game of which Mrs. Justin 
was very fond, although it had gone out of fashion. 
But Mr. Crisman put his hands in his pockets and 
smiled. Then he stated, with an air of not unkindly 
superiority, that he had but a small opinion of croquet 
and archery $ that is, considered as recreative occupa- 
tions for adults. 

“If there were enough people here and in the neigh- 
borhood to get up a base-ball match, 1 ” he said, “that 
would be something worth considering j but I rather 
think my grass -billiard days are over. Then, there’s 
another thing,” said Mr. Crisman, turning suddenly 
toward Mrs. Justin ; “I sha’n’t be able to come here 
next Saturday, anyway, for some of my friends and 
myself have made up a party to go on a cruise on the 
Sound in a yacht. You see, I want to get a little sea 
air when I have a chance, and I shall have plenty of 
the mountains when I come here to spend my vaca- 
tion.” 

“You never said anything to me of not coming next 
Saturday,” said Gay, reproachfully. 

“No,” said Mr. Crisman, turning to her with a 
smile, “I didn’t want to plump it on you too soon.” 

Mr. Stratford now rose to go home, and Mrs. Justin 
went out on the piazza with him to see if there was 
any chance of a clear day for the morrow, thus giving 
Mr. Crisman an opportunity to soothe the injured 
feelings of Miss Gay. 

The next day Stratford drove over to the railroad- 
48 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


station, and brought back with him his friend Arthur 
Thorne, whom he had invited to the Bullripple farm for 
a week’s fishing. Mr. Thorne was a very earnest worker 
at fishing; and indeed he always worked earnestly, 
whether in pursuit of pleasure or profit. On the day 
after his arrival he walked steadily, in his wading- 
boots and with his fishing accoutrements, up the 
middle of a long trout-stream. The water was very 
cold, and sometimes quite deep ; but when Mr. Thorne 
did anything, he did it in the right way, and he knew 
very well that the way to fish a trout-stream was to 
wade up the middle of it against the current. His 
friend Stratford was not so thorough in his methods, 
and frequently did a great part of his day’s fishing 
while standing on dry land ; but, for all that, he gen- 
erally caught all the trout that he and the Bullripple 
family could eat. 

When, toward the close of the afternoon, the two 
friends returned to the farm-house, they found Mrs. 
People in a state of wild agitation. Stratford had 
scarcely set foot upon the porch when she took him 
to one side, and communicated to him the cause of 
her mental and physical commotion. 

“I don’t know how to begin to tell you, Mr. Strat- 
ford,” she said, “but me an’ Enoch has got to go to 
the city to-morrow mornin’ the very earliest we can, 
which is by the milk train, which leaves the station at 
five o’clock. Enoch got a telegraph message from 
John just as we was settin’ down to dinner to-day, an’ 
he sent for both of us to come to him just as soon as 
ever we could, which we would have done this after- 
noon, gettin’ there after dark, to be sure, but we 
wouldn’t ’a’ minded that in times like this, if it hadn’t 
49 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


oeen for you and the other gentleman, who couldn’t 
be left with nobody but Marier to cook for you an’ 
take care of you, who isn’t no more able even to set 
your table, let alone a-cookin’ a beefsteak an’ makin’ 
coffee as you like it, than she is to go into the pulpit 
an’ preach $ an’ so, of course, we had to stay until we 
could see what could be done to make you an’ your 
friend comfortable while we was away, which won’t 
be more than three or four days, judgin’ from John’s 
message, which was a good long one, though I thought 
that ten words was all anybody ever sent. An’ I’m 
sure nothin’ could ’a’ happened worse than havin’ to 
go away at this time, just in the very week that you 
have company.” 

“But what is the matter, Mrs. People?” said Mr. 
Stratford. “You haven’t told me that. Has anything 
happened to your son?” 

“Happened ! ” she exclaimed. “Why, I should say 
something had happened ! Vatoldi’s has been boy- 
cotted.” 

At this announcement Mr. Stratford manifested his 
surprise by laughing outright. “What utter absur- 
dity ! ” he exclaimed. “And why in the world should 
you and your brother be called upon in an emergency 
of this sort? ” 

“John says,” replied Mrs. People, “that he must 
instantly have somebody he can trust, an’ we are the 
only ones. What he wants with us I don’t know. 
But down we must go, an’ no later than five o’clock 
to-morrow mornin’, either. John knows very well 
that Enoch’s hired man, Jim Neal, can do everything 
that’s needed on the farm for two or three days, any- 
way ; an’ I suppose he’d forgot about Marier not bein’ 
50 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


able to cook for anybody but farm-bands, an’ they 
wouldn’t stand ber more’n a week at the outside ; an’ 
of course be didn’t know your friend was here. But 
there’s no use talkin’ about all that. What’s to be 
done now is for you two gentlemen to make up your 
minds what you’re goin’ to do while we’re gone.” 

“You need not trouble yourself about that,” said 
Mr. Stratford, “if there is an urgent occasion for your 
leaving home ; and I suppose there must be, though I 
don’t understand it. Mr. Thorne and I will do very 
well while you are gone. We will consider that we 
are camping out, and what cooking Maria cannot do 
I can do myself. I’m a very good hand at that sort 
of thing.” 

“Not a bit of it ! Not a bit of it ! ” exclaimed Mrs. 
People. “I couldn’t rest easy for one minute on what- 
ever kind of a bed John has to give me— an’ I’m sure 
I don’t know what it’s goin’ to be— if I thought of you 
here doin’ your own cookin’, an’ with Marier greasin’ 
your way out of this world with her lard an’ her ham 
fat. No, indeed ; it shall never be said of me that I 
went off an’ left you in any such a mess as that. But 
here comes Mrs. Justin’s man, Henderson, on horse- 
back, an’ by the looks of him he’s bringin’ a letter.” 

The man did bring a letter, and it was for Mr. Strat- 
ford, and in it Mrs. Justin gave him and his friend a 
very cordial and earnest invitation to stay at her 
house during the absence of Mrs. People and Mr. Bull- 
ripple. 

“How did Mrs. Justin know anything about this?” 
exclaimed Stratford, when he had read the note. 

“Why, you see, the way of it was this,” answered 
Mrs. People. “As soon as Enoch an’ me got over the 
51 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


worst of our flurry, which was mostly mine, I must 
say, I began to think about you an’ what was to be- 
come of you while we was gone. Then I says to myself : 
‘Mrs. Justin ought to know about this ; not as I’d ask 
anything of her, for I’m jes as independent as the 
next person ; but still, if she wants to do anything in a 
neighborly way, it isn’t for me, who ever sence she 
first come with her husband to live here never had 
one word to say ag’in’ her, to put myself an’ my inde- 
pendence in the way of her doin’ it.’ So I jes had 
the buggy hitched up, an’ I drove over to her house 
as hard as I could go ; an’ ’twould have done you 
good, Mr. Stratford, to see how that mare did trot 
when I worked her up to such a state of mind that 
she forgot to shy at them upturned tree-roots jes at 
our line fence, which she’s done reg’lar ever sence the 
tree was blowed down in September of year before 
last. An’ I told Mrs. Justin all about the thing jes 
as it really stood, an’ she said I needn’t trouble myself 
about you an’ the other gentleman, for she’d invite 
you to stay till I got back. I made up my mind I 
wouldn’t say nothin’ about this till she sent over an’ 
asked you, for it wasn’t any of my business to interfere 
with her concerns nor her way of attendin’ to ’em ; 
but I must say I felt a mighty relief when I saw that 
man Henderson cornin’ with a letter, which, of course, 
I knew he had, an’ what it was. An’ now I’ll be off 
an’ see about supper, or else Marier’ll give you a taste 
of what you might have expected if you’d been left 
here with her to take care of you.” 

Stratford reflected some little time before answering 
Mrs. Justin’s note ; but then, after consulting with 
Thorne, and considering that the invitation was a 
52 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

very honest and kindly intentioned one, which should 
not be declined without good reason, he determined 
to accept it. 

In the early gray of the next morning Enoch and 
Mrs. People took the milk train for the city, and 
Stratford and Mr. Thorne drove over to Mrs. Justin’s 
house in time for breakfast. 


53 


CHAPTER Y 


There was indeed trouble at Vatoldi’s, and John 
People found himself in a perplexed and soul-har- 
rowed condition. The establishment over which he 
presided was such a well-ordered one that everybody 
seemed to be surprised at the sudden changes which 
had taken place in this favorite resort. The em- 
ployees had always been well treated and well paid, 
and had never shown any dissatisfaction with the 
rules of the establishment. But recently they had 
broken out in open rebellion against a fundamental 
regulation. 

It was a cherished belief in the mind of Mr. Stull 
that a waiter should look like a waiter, and that his 
working-clothes should not be the same as those worn 
by gentlemen on ceremonious occasions. None of the 
waiters at Vatoldi’s had ever made the slightest ob- 
jection to their neat and appropriate costume. But 
a man had recently been engaged, George Bencher by 
name, whose soul soared above the restrictions im- 
posed by narrow-minded authority. He made it plain 
to the other men that in all first-class restaurants the 
waiters wore dress-coats in the evening, and for him 
and his fellows to be attired in jackets and aprons at 
all hours was a visible proof that they worked in an 
54 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


establishment of a low order, or else did not possess 
the manhood with which to assert their rights. A 
united demand was therefore made on John People 
that the waiters should thereafter be allowed to wear 
dress-suits in the evening, instead of jackets and 
aprons. 

John People, of course, was not empowered to make 
a decision in an important case like this, nor could he 
say that he would refer the matter to his superiors, 
for, in the ordinary management of the business, he 
was not supposed to have any. Everybody connected 
with the place knew that the original Yatoldi must 
now be dead, and that, if John had not bought out 
the place, he was conducting it for the heirs. Mr. 
Stull had always insisted that, while John must refer 
to him in matters of any importance whatever, he 
must, at the same time, take care that no one should 
imagine that he was obliged to refer to anybody. Mr. 
Stull was most anxious that no curiosity should be 
aroused, and no impertinent investigations set on foot, 
in regard to the ownership of Vatoldi’s. 

Consequently, John was obliged to tell the men 
that he must take a little time to think over the 
matter, and when he went to the bank that afternoon 
to make his daily deposit and confer with Mr. Stull, 
he laid the affair before that gentleman. Mr. Stull 
was very indignant, and ordered John to tell the 
waiters that on no account would their absurd and 
impudent demand be complied with ; so long as they 
served at Vatoldi’s they should never wear dress- 
coats $ and that if they desired to adopt that style of 
dress, they must go somewhere else to do it. John 
gave the waiters his decision that evening, and when 
55 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


it was received every man took off his jacket and 
apron, put on his ordinary coat and his hat, and de- 
parted, and the establishment closed an hour or two 
earlier than usual. 

But John was equal to the emergency, and before 
the busy hours began next day he had secured, from 
the lists of applicants in his possession, enough waiters 
with whom to carry on the service. Now the war 
began, the offensive operations of which were directed 
by the energetic Bencher. Many of the newly em- 
ployed waiters were frightened away, and threats of 
loss of reputation and ill usage weakened the forces 
in the kitchen. More than this, Bencher determined 
to produce an impression upon the patrons of Ya- 
toldi’s, and, if possible, bring about a boycott of the 
place. The discontented waiters were called upon to 
contribute to a fund, and the money was employed in 
efforts to make the public believe that they should 
not patronize Vatoldi’s. Men were hired to parade 
the sidewalk in front of the place, bearing banners on 
which were painted warning inscriptions. “Eat not 
at the house of the oppressor ! ” sounding like a text 
of Scripture, was expected to have much effect. An- 
other inscription, based upon the belief in Vatoldi’s 
decease, read thus : 

THE GHOST* S RESTAURANT 
KEPT BY A DEAD MAN 
COOKING DONE IN THE VAULT 

These banner-bearers, however, with the crowds 
they attracted in the busy thoroughfare, were soon 
driven away by the police ; but the generous distribu- 
tion of hundreds of copies of a circular which Bencher 
56 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


had composed and had had printed was found to be 
of great service to the cause of the boycotters. This 
informed the public that if they patronized Vatoldi’s 
they might expect that the conscienceless management 
would be just as ready to impose bad eggs and tallow 
butter upon its patrons as it was to lay its vile yokes 
upon the necks of its employees ; with much more 
matter of a like character. 

As the authorship of these circulars could be re- 
ferred to nobody in particular, and as they might be 
scattered by any one as he passed the place, it was 
difficult to prevent their distribution. People would 
stop to look into Vatoldi’s to see what was going on, 
and other people stopped to see what these were look- 
ing at. Under these circumstances very few ladies 
came to Vatoldi’s ; and although a good many men 
persisted in taking their meals there in spite of the 
inferior service, the ordinary luncher or diner pre- 
ferred to go to some restaurant not so prominent in 
public notice, and the patronage of the place fell off 
greatly. 

The heart of Mr. Stull was filled with indignation 
and energetic resolve. If he could have appeared in 
his proper person as proprietor and manager of the 
boycotted establishment, he would have conducted 
affairs with such courage and wisdom as would have 
entitled him to the approbation of all good citizens. 
But it was simply impossible for him to make up his 
mind to avow himself the owner of Vatoldi’s. His 
pride in the high position which he held in social and 
financial circles would never allow him to admit, even 
in such a crisis as this, that his fortune in any way 
depended upon his ability as a restaurant-keeper. 

57 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Social standing was dearer to him even than money, 
and he would much have preferred to see Vatoldfs 
deserted by its patrons for a month, or even a year, 
than to see himself and his family deserted by “so- 
ciety.” 

But he did not intend that Vatoldi’s should be 
deserted. He could do nothing openly ; but indirectly, 
as a patron of the place, and as an earnest defender of 
the right of man to carry on a legitimate business in 
his own way, he did a great deal. He took all his 
meals at the place, and induced many of his friends to 
go there. He urged them to do this for the “prin- 
ciple of the thing,” although he did not hesitate to 
say that he should be very sorry to see this establish- 
ment, the best of its kind in the city, come to grief. 
He took his wife and three daughters to Yatoldi’s for 
luncheon and also for dinner, and both his carriage 
and his coupe were kept standing as long as possible 
before the door. 

When John People came to him at the usual hour, 
Mr. Stull fairly loaded him with injunctions and 
directions. If anything very important occurred, 
John was to telegraph to him at bank or residence, 
in a simple cipher, of which Mr. Stull prepared two 
copies ; and the faithful manager was ordered, when- 
ever his employer went up to the desk to pay his bill, 
to give him with his change a brief report of the state 
of affairs up to that time. It was at this conference 
that it was agreed that Mr. Bullripple and Mrs. People 
should be sent for. It was quite obvious that in this 
emergency John must have some assistants in whom 
he could trust ; and although his mother and his uncle 
knew nothing of restaurant-keeping, they were persons 
58 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


of varied abilities and much energy, and be felt that 
he knew no one else in whom he could place a like 
confidence. Mr. Stull was acquainted with the old 
farmer and his sister, and while they were not the 
people whom he would have decided to call upon 
had he had a choice, he knew that they were honest 
and devoted to John, and these points decided him 
to authorize John to call upon them. 

Mr. Bullripple and Mrs. People arrived at Vatoldi’s 
about eleven o’clock on the second day of the boycott 
—an hour of the morning at which, even on ordinary 
occasions, there were comparatively few customers in 
the place. John expected them by this train, and 
knowing that the meeting with his parent would not 
be an exhibition suitable for the public eye, he had 
retired at the proper moment to a small back room 
used as a storage pantry ; and it was there that his 
mother enfolded him in her arms and assured him 
with streaming eyes that she would stand by him to 
the last bone in her body. 

When the emotions of Mrs. People had been some- 
what quieted, and Enoch Bullripple had taken his 
nephew by the hand and had inquired what was the 
trouble, and what John wanted him to do, they all 
sat down at a table in a corner of the large room, 
and everything was explained. Mrs. People was very 
anxious to know what Mr. Vatoldi thought about it 
all, but John evaded her questions. 

“ Everything is left to me,” he said. “The pro- 
prietor is away and cannot come here, and I must 
manage the whole affair myself ; and I think I can get 
through all right if you two will stay here for a few 
days until things come straight again.” 

59 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“We’ll stay, John,” said his mother, “just as long as 
you need us. You may depend on that.” 

“That’s so,” added the old man. “We’ll stick to 
you till the place is either shut up or running along 
as it used to. Now, do you want me to carve or wash 
dishes ? ” 

It did not take long for John to explain what he 
wanted his new assistants to do. His mother was to 
go into the kitchen. The head cook had been induced 
to follow the waiters, and although the assistants who 
remained were moderately skilled in their duties, they 
could not be trusted to work without supervision. 
Mr. Bullripple was to keep a general eye upon the 
dining-room, and when John was out was to preside 
at the cashier’s desk. He was not quick at making 
change, but he could do so with great accuracy, hav- 
ing a very sharp eye for a penny. 

Enoch Bullripple had not always been a farmer. 
Although country -bred, he had at one time kept a 
small grocery store in the eastern part of the city, and 
after that he had made a voyage to the West Indies, 
during which his speculations in early cabbages and 
potatoes had proved very profitable to him. The 
head, arms, and legs of Mr. Bullripple were very hard, 
and his movements and his wits were quick. He was 
not ignorant of the ways of the town, and was one of 
those countrymen against whom town dealers are 
much more likely to endeavor to defend themselves 
than to try to impose upon them. He entered with 
much interest into the new line of business now open 
to him at Yatoldi’s. He was very willing to give his 
nephew all the assistance in his power, but he also had 
a strong desire to make use of the opportunities that 
60 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


might now be afforded him to find out what was that 
nephew’s true position in the establishment. If Va- 
toldi were dead, as he had reason to believe, could it 
be possible that John was now the real proprietor? 
In that case, what became of the very large profits 
which must accrue from the business? But if John 
were merely acting as the agent of some one else, who 
was that some one else? This was the question to 
which Enoch gave his attention, for he did not believe 
that John was actually at the head of affairs. He was 
quite sure that there was a proprietor and general 
director in the background, and he was quite as sure 
that this person desired to remain very much in the 
background. It was not merely curiosity which 
prompted Enoch to discover the unknown owner and 
his motives for secrecy. He believed that his nephew 
was carrying a very heavy load with but very little 
profit to himself, and that if he, Enoch, could get one 
of his strong thumbs into the Yatoldi pie, he would 
be able to pull out a plum for John. 

Mr. Bullripple walked up and down between the 
rows of tables in the long room, sometimes taking his 
seat on an empty chair, of which, on this day, there 
were a good many. He kept his eyes on the new 
waiters who had been employed, looking sharply for 
signs of disaffection and intimidation. Now and then 
he stepped to the door to see if he could discover any 
of those banners of which he had been told, and several 
times he made a sudden swoop out upon the sidewalk 
and in the direction of a boy who was distributing the 
circulars of the boycotters. He never caught the boy, 
but he picked up a great many circulars, and carried 
them in to be burned. 


61 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


A little before three o’clock John asked his uncle to 
take his place at the cashier’s desk,— a good deal of a 
sinecure just then,— as he was obliged to go to the 
bank and make his deposits. 

“ Can’t I go for you?” asked his uncle. 

“Oh, no,” said John, “I always do that myself.” 

The rest of the afternoon and evening passed disa- 
greeably at Vatoldi’s. As night drew on, a crowd of 
idlers, apparently sent there for the purpose of mak- 
ing the ordinary public believe that something was 
going to happen, stood, dispersed, and reassembled 
upon the sidewalk. Sometimes rough fellows went 
in and demanded something to drink, without any- 
thing to eat, and when told that refreshments were 
not served in that fashion, complained violently, 
and went away with loud words of derision and 
contempt. Nearly every one who passed the place 
seemed to carry in his hand one of Bencher’s cir- 
culars ; and when, in the course of the evening, Mr. 
Stull and his friends, with other gentlemen who had 
determined to patronize on principle this persecuted 
restaurant, went in, nearly all of them ordered some- 
thing or other which John had thought would not be 
called for in these troublous times, and which, there- 
fore, was not on hand. If Mr. Stull said anything to 
John when he went up to the cashier’s desk, it must 
have been spoken very quickly, and in an undertone, 
for no one noticed it. But, as he walked away, Mr. 
Stull’s face was very red, while John’s seemed troubled. 
At the close of the day several of the newly engaged 
waiters informed Mr. People that they would like to 
have their money for their day’s work, and that they 
should not return. They had not understood the state 
62 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


of affairs when they agreed to come there, and they 
did not wish to mix themselves up in any such trouble. 
Of course no one of them said anything about the pri- 
vate note he had received that day from Bencher. 

John had secured rooms for his mother and uncle 
in the boarding-house where he lived, and after the 
young man had taken his weary body and soul to bed, 
the two elders had a little confabulation in the parlor. 

“If this thing goes on much longer,” said Mrs. People, 
“it will bring that boy to his dyin’ bed. He’s pretty 
nigh worn out now . 77 

“That 7 s so , 77 replied Enoch ; “John’s mighty stout 
on his pins, but he looks shaky, for all that . 77 

“Pins is no good , 77 said his sister, “no matter how 
fat they may be, when the mind’s so troubled an 7 
tossed it can 7 t sleep. An 7 jes look at that Yatoldi ! 77 

“I wish I could , 77 said Enoch, “but I don’t expect 
to . 77 

“No, indeed , 77 said Mrs. People ; “it’s easy enough 
to see that he 7 s goin 7 to keep himself out of harm’s 
way, an 7 trouble’s way too, an 7 leave my boy to bear 
everythin’. I tell you what let’s do, Enoch. Let’s 
shut up the place, an 7 take John away. Then, if 
Yatoldi wants to open it again, let him come an 7 
open it . 77 

“That wouldn’t do, Hannah ; that wouldn’t do,” 
said Enoch. “If the reg’lar customers, like Mr. Stull 
and all them carriage people, was to find the place 
shut up, they’d go somewhere else, and not come 
back again. It won’t do to spile a good business that 
way.” 

“It’s a long time sence John has had a holiday,” said 
Mrs. People, after a little pause, “an’ he’s always told 
63 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


me he couldn’t have one, because there was nobody to 
take his place while he was gone. Now, it strikes me 
that this is jes the time for John to get his holiday. 
Here’s you an’ me on hand to be in his place ; an’ as 
long as the restaurant’s boycotted there won’t be much 
to do, an’ what little business there is you an’ me can 
attend to well enough without John.” 

“ That’s a good idee, Hannah,” said Enoch, “a very 
good idee. As long as the business is upset, and hind- 
part foremost, and standing on its head, I can do what 
marketing is needed, and boss the waiters. But if 
everything was a-runnin’ on as smooth and even as 
the fly-wheel of a steam-engine, with hundreds of peo- 
ple cornin’ in, and eatin’ and drinkin’, and never seein’ 
nothin’ to find fault with, then you and me would get 
the whole machinery out of order, because we don’t 
understand it, and John, or somebody like him, would 
have to be on hand. But now we can go into this 
rough-and-tumble business as well as anybody, and 
keep things as straight as they can be kept till that 
lot of stupid waiters see which side their bread is but- 
tered, and come back. Then John can take hold 
again, and everything go on as it used to. You’re 
right, Hannah. This is the time for John’s holiday, if 
he’s ever goin’ to get one.” 

“But he’s got to get it ! ” said Mrs. People, her emo- 
tion lifting her to her feet. “I know he’ll say he can’t 
an’ he won’t. But that’s not goin’ to make any differ- 
ence with me. I’m determined he shall have a rest. 
Why, when he went off to bed jes now, he was about 
able to get up-stairs, an’ no more.” 

Enoch Bullripple had much more faith in the en- 
during powers of John than had been expressed by 
64 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Mrs. People, but for more reasons than one he greatly 
desired that the young man should have a holiday. 
If he, Enoch, should be left in charge of Vatoldi’s for 
a few days, he felt sure that he could get at the bottom 
of the mystery of the proprietorship. 

“But, Hannah,” said he, a I really don’t see how it’s 
goin’ to be done.” 

“I don’t, neither,” said Mrs. People, “but it’s got to 
be done, an’ that’s the long an’ the short of it.” 


65 


CHAPTER VI 


The two gentlemen whose residence at the Bull- 
ripple farm had been interrupted by the boycott at 
Vatoldi’s found the life at Mrs. Justin’s house a very 
pleasant one. Mr. Thorne, having come into the 
mountai to fish, fished; and his friend Stratford 
usually went with him on his excursions. In the even- 
ing this family of four adapted itself very well to 
cards, conversation, or twilight strolls, and the ladies 
found fault with Mr. Thorne because he worked so 
hard at his fishing, and gave none of his daytime to 
pursuits in which they could take part. But he was a 
thoroughly conscientious young man, and as he came 
to the mountains to fish, he fished. 

As his friend now began to know the country, Mr. 
Stratford frequently left him to wade the cold trout- 
streams alone, while he gave some of his time to the 
entertainment of the ladies. One afternoon he took 
them, with the Justin horses and carriage, on a long 
drive through some of the valley roads. On the next 
day he did not go out with Mr. Thorne at all, as Mrs. 
Justin desired his opinion on a business letter she had 
received from some of her fellow- workers ; and in the 
afternoon, Mrs. Justin having retired to the library to 
compose her answer, Stratford proposed to Miss Ar- 
66 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


matt that she should go in a boat on Cherry Creek, 
and investigate the beauty of that winding stream. 

“Why, I thought the Cherry River, as I shall call 
it, was not navigable,” said Miss Gay. “When Mr. 
Crisman and I wanted to go rowing, Mrs. Justin told 
us that it was so full of sand-bars and snags, and all 
sorts of obstructions, that boating on it was not to be 
thought of.” 

“She was entirely right,” pursued Stratford ; “that 
is, when speaking of persons not familiar with the 
peculiarities of the stream. It would be extremely 
awkward and perhaps dangerous for you and Mr. Cris- 
man to essay boating here. But in this case it is differ- 
ent. I have lived here a great deal, and have made 
myself perfectly acquainted with the eccentricities of 
the river, or creek. Suppose you come and let us see 
what progress we can make.” 

“Oh, I shall be delighted,” said Gay. And tossing 
on her hat, she walked with Stratford to the water- 
side. 

In rowing of the sort that was required here Strat- 
ford was an adept. With Miss Gay in the stern of the 
boat, and himself placed moderately well forward, so 
that the flat-bottomed craft should draw as little water 
as possible, he rowed rapidly over the deeper and open 
places, pulled close to one bank to avoid the shallows 
by the other, crushed steadily through beds of lily- 
pads, and once slowly and gently pushed the boat be- 
neath the trunk of a tree which spanned the stream, 
keeping his eyes meantime on Gay to see that her 
head and shoulders were bent low enough to prevent 
contact with the rough overhanging bark. 

As they went on the stream became wider and 
67 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


deeper, and they met with fewer impediments ; and it 
was not long before Stratford, to Miss Armatt’s great 
delight, turned the boat into a narrow tributary 
stream, which, running through the heart of the 
woods, presented to the eye a lovely water-avenue, 
passing under overhanging arches of green leaves, 
mossy branches, and down-reaching vines. This little 
stream, though narrow, was deeper and much more 
open to the approaches of a little boat than the upper 
part of Cherry Creek, and for ten or fifteen minutes 
Stratford rowed quite steadily, keeping his head, the 
meanwhile, turned well to one side so that he should 
not run into either of the banks. 

Then he stopped, and, drawing in the oars, said : 
“Now I’ll rest for a time and look about me.” 

“You’ll see nothing,” exclaimed Miss Gay, with 
sparkling eyes, “that is not perfectly lovely.” 

Stratford looked about him and perceived that she 
was quite correct. Here and there was a break in the 
green roof above them, and the sunlight, falling in 
little dapples on leaf and water, enhanced the beauty 
of the shaded vernal hues with which the scene was 
mainly tinged. On one bank a matted grape-vine 
bent down so low and wide that it formed a spreading 
bower over the water, under which a little boat might 
gently lie. On either side there were glimpses of 
forest beauty. Beyond them, the little stream twinkled 
and rippled into the far-away heart of the woods, and 
the perfume from the young blossoms of the grape- 
vines filled all the air. 

Miss Gay sat silent, her eyes wandering from side to 
side, and resting at last upon the water-bower formed 
by the spreading vines. Then she said : “I think I 
68 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


must try and remember all the twists and turns we 
made in coming here, so that sometime I can guide 
Mr. Crisman to this spot. I don’t believe he was ever 
in such a charming place.” 

Stratford looked into the face of Miss Gay, and across 
the clear blue sky of her delight he saw floating a thin 
gray cloud. He knew that she was thinking what a 
little heaven this would be if it were her lover who 
was with her. But Stratford had not brought Miss 
Armatt here that she might tell herself how delightful 
it would be to sit in a boat with Mr. Crisman under 
that roof of odorous vines. He wanted to talk to her 
of herself, and this he now set about to do. 

He answered her remark by saying that she would 
have to come over this course a good many times be- 
fore she would be able to act as guide for any one else. 
He made no offer to be her instructor in navigation, 
but began to question her on the subject of her past 
studies and those victories in the field of learning 
which she still hoped to achieve. He made her under- 
stand how greatly interested he was in the objects of 
Mrs. Justin’s life-work ; and having heard from that 
lady so much of Miss Armatt, he wished to talk to her 
about what she had done and what she intended to do. 

Miss Gay was very willing to talk of these matters. 
She had learned from Mrs. Justin that Mr. Stratford 
was a man whose experience and knowledge were 
very great, and whose opinions were of the highest 
value, and she much desired to have his advice about 
her future studies. 

But very little advice she received on this occasion. 
Mr. Stratford wished to look into her mind, and not 
to exhibit his own. Miss Gay found it very easy to 
69 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


talk to her companion. He seemed to want to know 
exactly those things which she most wished to tell 
him. In ten minutes she was speaking more freely of 
her aspirations and half-matured plans than she had 
ever spoken to any one before. Mrs. Justin was her 
dear, kind friend, and always willing to listen and 
assist. But Gay had perceived that there was not a 
perfect sympathy between them when they talked of 
her future intentions. Mrs. Justin wished her young 
friend to climb, and climb boldly ; but the spot at 
which she would have been willing to rest content was 
far below the altitude on which Gay Armatt had fixed 
her eyes and her hopes. But here was one who not 
only sympathized with her in her longings, but, by his 
questions and his hearty interest, led her on to bring 
forth ideas and plans which had long been laid away 
in her mind because there was no one to whom she 
could show them. She expected to talk about all 
these things to Mr. Crisman after they were married ; 
but just now their conversation never ran upon intel- 
lectual or educational topics. There were always things 
of a totally different sort which he wished to say to her. 

But now, side by side with this courteous gentleman, 
this scholar and careful thinker, she walked in the 
regions of high thought and far-spread prospects ; and 
when the sun had sunk so low that it no longer threw 
its light upon the leaves and water, and Stratford took 
up the oars and said it was time for them to return, 
he looked into her face, and on the sky of her delight 
there was no cloud. 

Gay told Mrs. Justin all about this most delightful 
little excursion, and hesitated not at the same time to 
give vent to her high admiration of Mr. Stratford. 

70 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“It is a pity/’ said Mrs. Justin, “that Mr. Crisman 
could not have rowed you into this woodland stream.” 

“It would have been perfectly lovely,” exclaimed 
Miss Gay, “if he could have been with me ! But 
then,” she added, “I should have lost that most en- 
couraging conversation with Mr. Stratford.” 

The next afternoon Mr. Thorne was prevailed upon 
to stay at home and take part in Mrs. Justin’s favorite 
outdoor amusement, a game of croquet. Thorne was 
a kind-hearted man, and as willing as anybody to aid 
in the work of making other people happy, provided 
such labor did not interfere with the things which he 
really ought to do. But now he felt that he had done 
his duty in the trout-streams, and that, having come 
into the mountains to fish, he had fished. Therefore 
a four-handed game of croquet was made up. 

“Gay and Mr. Thorne will play together,” said Mrs. 
Justin, “leaving you and me for the other side.” 

Stratford smiled. “That will be a most agreeable 
arrangement for me,” he said, “but I am rather sorry 
for Miss Armatt and Thorne.” 

“That is true,” said Mrs. Justin. “I remember now 
that Gray said she had not had a mallet in her hand 
since she was a little girl ; and you and I are both 
good players.” 

“Thorne tells me he knows but little of the game,” 
said Stratford. “Shall I take him on my side and 
coach him ? ” 

“Of course not,” answered Mrs. Justin. “We won’t 
divide in that way. You must take Gay, and I will 
play with Mr. Thorne.” 

The game proved to be a very long one, for both 
Mrs. Justin and Stratford were good shots and excel- 

71 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


lent managers, and they so harassed each other that 
advantages on either side were slowly gained. But 
for Gay the game was none too long. She was sur- 
prised to find that croquet, which she had supposed to 
be a thing of bygone days, relegated now to children 
and very old-fashioned grown people, was really an 
interesting and absorbing exercise, in which many 
powers of the mind, not omitting those of a mathe- 
matical nature, were brought into vigorous play. 
Every shot she made, every position she took, and 
even her manner of standing and holding her mallet, 
were directed by Mr. Stratford ; and the pleasure of 
doing these things properly, and of feeling that every 
effort had its due value, helped very much to give the 
game its zest. She and her partner won, and this was 
not because Mr. Stratford was a better player than 
Mrs. Justin, or that Gay knew more of the game than 
Mr. Thorne, but because the younger lady subordinated 
herself entirely to Stratford. They moved through 
the game as one player, neither advancing far beyond 
the other, and at length side by side going out of it. 
Mrs. Justin did not demand such subjection from her 
partner. She thought that sometimes he ought to rely 
on himself, and when he did so she generally found 
that he had left little on which she could rely. 

As they walked toward the house, Gay Armatt said 
to Mrs. Justin : “I believe Mr. Stratford would make 
a splendid teacher. I think he ought not to deprive 
the world of the benefit of his extraordinary talents in 
that way.” 

“I know Mr. Stratford has not the slightest desire,” 
answered Mrs. Justin, “to act as teacher to the world ” 
—placing a slight emphasis on the collective noun. 

72 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Whether Stratford liked teaching or not, he and 
Miss Gay spent more than an hour the next morning 
on the back piazza of the house, with four large books 
from the library and an ancient atlas. 

“May I ask,” said Mrs. Justin, when she came out 
to them, “what you two have found to keep you here 
all the morning ?” 

“We haven’t been here all the morning,” said Strat- 
ford, “and we have been visiting some of the head- 
springs of literature, and tracing the meanderings of 
their streams.” 

“You can’t imagine,” cried Miss Gay, “how inter- 
esting it has been ! But I had no idea,” looking at 
her watch, “that it was nearly twelve o’clock, and I 
have two letters to write before you send to the post- 
office!” 

Gay ran into the house, and Mrs. Justin took her 
place in the chair by Stratford. “It is a pity,” she 
said, after glancing a few moments over the atlas, “that 
Mr. Crisman chose to take his yachting expedition 
just now. It would be so much more pleasant for 
him to be here while you two gentlemen are in the 
house. I heard from Mrs. People this morning, and 
she says she will not be able to return home until after 
next Sunday at the earliest.” 

Mr. Stratford looked at his companion with a very 
small twinkle in his eye, but with a grave face. “You 
think,” he said, “that Mr. Crisman ought to be here 
while we are here ? ” 

“I cannot but believe,” she said, looking steadily at 
Stratford, “that it would be better for his interests.” 

“And how about Miss Armatt’s interests? ” he asked. 

“What do you mean?” said the lady, quickly. 

73 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

“Mrs. Justin/’ said Stratford, closing the atlas and 
leaning forward as he spoke, “I mean this : Miss Ar- 
matt is a young woman in whom I take an extraor- 
dinary interest.” 

“It is scarcely necessary to mention that,” remarked 
Mrs. Justin. 

“You should not be surprised,” said he, “at my in- 
terest in her, for you have the same feeling yourself. 
You know she is a girl with an exceptional future 
open to her, and you would do anything in your power 
to help her. I am of the same mind. I believe that 
I comprehend very clearly her present condition of 
intellectual development ; and I see, too, in what 
directions her inclinations will lead her in regard to 
her future work. I think her views are not exactly 
sound. She needs something more than her college 
and her text-books can give her. And I very much 
hope that I shall be able to bring her to look upon 
literature, philosophy, and science with the eye of an 
untrammelled thinker. This she ought to do before 
she takes another step forward. And I honestly 
admit to you, Mrs. Justin, that I am very glad to 
have the opportunity, uninterrupted by Mr. Cris- 
man’s weekly visit, to do what I can to assist in 
the cutting and polishing of this jewel in your 
crown.” 

“You know, Mr. Stratford,” said Mrs. Justin, “that 
I expected you to take an interest in Gay, and that I 
should have been very much disappointed if you had 
not done so : but I did not expect that she would take 
such a deep and absorbing interest in you.” 

“I cannot say,” answered Stratford, after a moment’s 
pause, “that I am sorry to hear that ; because if she is 
74 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


interested in me she will he the more likely to give an 
earnest attention to what I say.” 

“Horace Stratford/’ said Mrs. Justin, “did anybody 
ever turn you the least bit to the right or the left?” 

“Yes,” he answered. “Here is this young creature, 
with the mind of a philosopher and the heart of a girl, 
who has turned me entirely aside from what I thought 
I was going to do when I came down here.” 

“It is just that girl -heart which troubles me,” 
thought Mrs. Justin ; but she did not deem it proper 
to speak her thought. Gay Armatt was engaged to be 
married, and what had she or Mr. Stratford to do with 
her girl-heart? So she continued not this conversa- 
tion, but, after gazing a moment at the vines upon 
the latticework beside her, she looked over the lawn. 
“What has Mr. Thorne been doing with himself this 
morning?” she asked. “He is now sitting alone, 
down there on the bench by the bank. I think he 
has been outrageously neglected.” 

“I can’t agree with you,” said Stratford, “for imme- 
diately after breakfast he started out on some sort of 
pedestrian expedition, without saying anything to me 
about it. I knew nothing of his intention until I saw 
him marching away over the hills. He is an odd fel- 
low, and I suppose he thought it was his duty, on a 
fine morning like this, to walk.” 

“Mr. Thorne is very conscientious, is he not?” 
asked Mrs. Justin. 

“He is entirely too conscientious.” 

“How can any one be too conscientious ? ” asked the 
lady, with some warmth. 

“It is quite possible,” answered Stratford. “Arthur 
Thorne has an abnormal conscience. He has culti- 


75 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


vated it so carefully that I believe it has grown to be 
a thing which overshadows his life. Now, I prefer for 
myself a conscience which is pruned down to healthy 
and vigorous growth.” 

“And who does the pruning?” asked Mrs. Justin. 

“I do,” answered Stratford, with a smile. And then 
he went down to join Mr. Thorne upon the lawn. 

“ Why did you start off this morning without saying 
anything to me about it? ” asked Stratford, as he took 
a seat by his friend. 

Mr. Thorne smiled. “I thought,” he said, “that if 
I asked you, politeness might impel you to go with 
me ; and as I saw Miss Armatt alone with her books 
on the piazza, I knew where your chosen place would 
be. Would it be stepping outside of the privileges of 
friendship if I were to offer you my congratulations, 
together with my most unqualified commendation ? ” 

“My dear Thorne,” exclaimed Stratford, “your 
reason has taken grasshopper legs unto itself, and has 
jumped most wildly ! Let us speak plainly. Do you 
suppose I am making love to Miss Armatt ? ” 

“I supposed,” said Thorne, “from the general tone of 
your intercourse with the young lady, that the pre- 
liminary stage of love-making had been passed, and 
that you were engaged.” 

“You amaze me ! ” cried Stratford. “There is noth- 
ing whatever of that sort between me and Miss Ar- 
matt ! I never saw her until I came up here, about 
two weeks ago. I am exceedingly interested in her 
studies and in her prospects, and that is the basis of 
our intimacy.” 

“I shall not ask your pardon,” said Mr. Thorne, “for 
the mistake was a compliment to your taste and good 
76 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


sense. I used to think that Mrs. Justin, without ques- 
tion, was the most charming woman of my acquaint- 
ance ; but since I have seen Miss Armatt, I have 
revolved the matter somewhat in my mind. In fact, 
that was what I was doing just now when you came.” 

“ A most profitless revolution,” remarked Stratford. 

As the two men walked together toward the house, 
it occurred to Stratford that he had not mentioned to 
his friend that Miss Armatt was indeed engaged to be 
married, though not to himself. But the subject of 
Mr. Crisman was not agreeable to him, and he did not 
care to discuss it ; therefore he said nothing about it. 

That afternoon Arthur Thorne took Miss Armatt to 
drive in his friend Stratford’s buggy. Arthur had 
taken lessons in driving from a professional, and he 
was the only man with whom Stratford would trust 
his horse. Mrs. Justin did not say to herself that Mr. 
Thorne was the only man with whom she would trust 
Gay, but she was very willing to have him go with 
her, his abnormal conscience not appearing as a fault 
in her eyes. It was not, perhaps, entirely suitable 
that Gay should go driving with any young man other 
than her engaged lover ; but, as Mr. Crisman chose to 
stay away, Mrs. Justin did not feel inclined to shut up 
her young friend on that account. 

As for Gay herself, she went very willingly with Mr. 
Thorne, but she could not help feeling a little disap- 
pointed that it had not been Mr. Stratford who had 
asked her. Several times during the drive, which was 
a long and interesting one, she was employed in 
making mental comparisons between Mr. Stratford 
and Mr. Thorne, at moments when the latter thought 
she was absorbed in contemplation of the landscape. 

77 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


And yet, she liked Mr. Thorne very much, and would 
probably like him better when she knew him better. 
There was here none of that fire-and-wax sympathy 
which had shown itself in the early stages of her 
acquaintance with Mr. Stratford. Mr. Thorne spoke 
but little on those subjects in which her mind was 
most deeply interested, and what he did say was not 
at all what Mr. Stratford would have said. But she 
felt, when she returned from her drive, that she had 
spent the afternoon with one who was truly a gentle- 
man. Mr. Thorne had done nothing which was pecul- 
iarly adapted to produce this impression, but the 
impression had been produced ; and Gay Armatt could 
not help thinking that it was a very pleasant thing to 
be in the company of persons who were truly gentle- 
men. 

But, in her thoughts, Gay instituted no comparisons 
between Mr. Crisman and other men. Other men 
were other men, and had their faults and their merits. 
But Mr. Crisman was in a different sphere altogether : 
he was her lover, and she was to marry him ; and with 
him criticism and comparison had nothing to do. 


78 


CHAPTER VII 


Mr. Enoch Bullripple lay in his bed, in his room 
at his lodging-house, and gazed steadily at a large 
lithographic picture of the death-bed of Jonathan 
Edwards which hung on the wall opposite to him. 
This work of art was moderately lighted by a cluster 
of electric lamps, which, half a mile from his window, 
was suspended two hundred feet in the air for the all- 
night lighting of the city park and its surrounding 
bedrooms. He thought nothing of the expiring theo- 
logian, but he was thinking very earnestly and actively 
of the conversation he had just had with his sister 
in regard to the expediency of bringing about a holi- 
day for his nephew John. Enoch would have been 
very glad to do this solely for the sake of the young- 
man, who truly needed rest and recreation ; but he 
was much more willing to do it for his own sake. He 
greatly desired to have the opportunity to institute 
an inquisition into the constitution of the Vatoldi 
establishment, and this he believed could be done only 
in John’s absence. In devising and discarding this 
plan and that, for getting rid of John for a few days, 
Mr. Bullripple fell asleep. 

In another room of the lodging-house lay Mrs. Peo- 
ple, gazing at a steel engraving of a hunter returning 
79 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


from the chase, surrounded by piles of dead game, the 
transportation of which could only be accounted for 
by supposing that he coaxed the various creatures to 
his door-step and there despatched them. But Mrs. 
People thought not of the hunter or his victims ; her 
mind was fixed upon the necessity of getting J ohn off 
for a holiday before old Yatoldi came in from the 
country, or wherever it was that he was staying. In 
devising and discarding plans for this purpose she fell 
asleep. 

Very early the next day this worthy brother and 
sister, each utterly planless, and somewhat dejected on 
that account, made their way to Yatoldi 7 s, where, of 
course, they took their meals. Enoch was much the 
faster walker, and, partly because she was tired keep- 
ing up with him, and partly because she wanted an 
apple, a fruit that was not to be had at Yatoldi’s at 
that season, she stopped at the stand of Dennis Boon, 
where she had bought apples before, and had thus 
formed a slight acquaintance with the proprietor. 

Mr. Boon was an apple-stand keeper of prominence ; 
in fact, his stand, which was at the corner of two busy 
streets not far from Yatoldi’s, was, from a certain 
point of view, the most important place of business in 
the neighborhood. This point of view was Dennis 
Boon’s point of view. Nothing could be so important 
in the eyes of himself and his family as that the stand 
should be opened at the proper time in the morning ; 
that certain apples should be rubbed and placed in one 
compartment ; that certain other apples should be 
rubbed and placed in another compartment ; that this 
bunch of bananas should be turned this way, and that 
bunch should be turned the other way j and that just 
80 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


so many oranges should be kept in a corner box where 
they would attract the attention of people coming 
from different directions. These matters, with many 
others, such as the probable relation of the weather to 
the day’s trade, or the varied arrangements of the 
little awning so that keeping off the sunshine should 
not interfere too much with the attraction of purchas- 
ers, were discussed with as much earnestness and 
warmth by Dennis, his wife and son and oldest daugh- 
ter, as if they had been questions of Home Rule or 
Pan-Electricity. 

Dennis was a strong-built, black-bearded man, loaded 
and crammed, from the crown of his head to the heel 
of his foot, with active vitality. He was never still so 
long as there was anything to do, and never silent so 
long as there was anybody to speak to. In connection 
with his stand he carried on the business of boot- 
blacking, and two arm-chairs, one on each street, were 
always ready for customers. The son and heir, with 
shirt-sleeves of the same blue flannel spotted with 
white of which his father’s sleeves were made, was the 
boot-black ; but when occasion required, Dennis would 
dash from boots to apples and from apples to boots 
with astonishing readiness and celerity. In the earli- 
est hours of street pedestrianism his stand was open, 
and his wares remained on view and sale until after 
midnight. Even on Sundays the business went on, 
and the halo of importance hung over the stand. If 
on a fine Sunday one of Dennis’s customers, dressed in 
his best clothes and smoking the cigar in which he 
always indulged of a Sunday morning, came from his 
house with an air of leisurely independence to buy his 
Sunday paper and have his boots blacked, and chanced 
81 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


to bring his little girl along with him, it was ten, or 
even eleven, to one that Dennis gave that little girl 
an apple, selecting the fruit from a box in the lower 
part of the stand. This apple would be specked, and 
not one which the customer would have bought had 
he been buying apples ; but, as it was a present to his 
child, he walked away with that feeling of elevated 
satisfaction which is caused by the reception of pres- 
ents which we feel are tributes to the value of our 
patronage. 

Mrs. People selected a well-preserved red apple 
from the stand, and then she said : 

“It seems to me it is very late for apples. In our 
part of the country they were gone long ago. Where 
do these come from? ” 

“From the market, down-town,” answered Dennis ; 
“but where the trees grow I niver heard. But ye can 
always thrust to there bein’ apples all the year round. 
The old ones always waits till the new ones cooms.” 

“That’s very different from what it is up our way,” 
said Mrs. People, “but it’s a lucky thing that city 
folks have somethin’ to console themselves with. I’ve 
barely been here two days yet, an’ I’m hankerin’ for 
home.” 

“Ye’re havin’ a hard time there at Yatoldi’s, 
mum,” said Dennis, who knew all about the boycott, 
and had taken a great interest in its progress, “an’ if 
ye’d coom to town when things was smoother ye’d ’a’ 
liked it better. An’ ain’t there no signs of them 
blockheads coomin’ back to work an’ givin’ up their 
coat-tails? If I was Misther People that kapes the 
place, I’d break the head of ivery one of ’em that said 
‘tail’ to me.” 


82 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Mr. People is my son, sir, an’ he don’t keep the 
place himself, which I wish he did, because then I’d 
make him give it up, an’ come home, an’ go to farm- 
in’, like his father before him. But here he is, wearin’ 
himself out, an’ killin’ himself, for somebody else. 
For, as I said to him yesterday, Tt’s no difference to 
you, John, whether they wear jackets or coat-tails, 
an’ if I was you, I’d jes go home an’ rest for a spell 
while there is so little doin’, an’ let old Vatoldi come 
down an’ settle the business with the waiters him- 
self.’” 

“I thought that man was dead, mum,” said Dennis. 

“He isn’t dead a bit,” answered Mrs. People. “He’s 
livin’ up the North River somewhere, either at Yon- 
kers or Newburgh ; at least, that’s what I take it to be 
from what John tells me, though he never named 
either of them towns. An’ then, as I was sayin’, if 
John could be got off into the country,— an’ he’s not 
had a decent rest for nigh on to two years,— the old 
man would have to come down, an’ then me an’ my 
brother— that’s Mr. Bullripple— could go home, too.” 

Dennis paused in the removal of the wrapping from 
an orange he held in his hand, and turned toward Mrs. 
People. “It’s my opinion, mum,” he said, “that 
ye’ve pitched yer hat right into the middle of that 
boycott business, an’ if ye go there to pick it up, 
ye’ll see things jist as they is. As like as not, them 
waiters is more set ag’in’ yer son, mum, than they 
would be ag’in’ anybody else, because he’s the one that 
won’t let ’em have their coat-tails. Now, if he was to 
go away, an’ let the head boss coom an’ talk to ’em, 
he might be able to sthraighten things out quicker than 
Misther People could do it. Though I must say, mum, 
83 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


that Fd feel like warmin’ their jackets fur ’em afther 
they put ’em on.” 

“But we can’t get him to go/’ said Mrs. People, who 
had half eaten her apple. “He won’t listen to it.” 

“If ye could make him see, mum,” said Mr. Boon, 
“that it wasn’t on’y fur the good of his hilth, but fur 
the good of the business, perhaps he’d go.” 

“It’s no use,” said Mrs. People, shaking her head. 
“Me an’ his uncle has talked an’ talked to him, but 
you might as well try to push down a lamp-post as to 
move John.” 

“There is them, mum,” said Dennis, “which, if they 
won’t move fur their own good, must be moved by 
their fri’nds. An’ that brings to me moind the case 
of me sister-in-law, Missis Follory. She was very bad 
with the consumption, mum, most part of her lungs 
bein’ gone, an’ the rest jist like wood fur hardness ; 
an’ the doctor said she ought to go to Cuby an’ 
breathe sugar.” 

“Breathe what?” exclaimed Mrs. People. 

“They go into the houses where they make sugar, 
mum, an’ the air is all full of sugar an’ melasses, an’ 
they breathe that, an’ it ayther makes their lungs 
grow ag’in, or softens ’em, I niver knew which ; but 
it’s good fur consumption. An’ that’s what the doctor 
said she must do. But niver an inch would Missis 
Follory budge, though all her fri’nds an’ relations got 
afther her an’ towld her that she was jist murtherin’ 
herself to sit there a-sewin’ an’ conthractin’ her chist 
whin she might as well be recoverin’ her hilth, 
a-breathin’ sugar an’ melasses, an’, perhaps, a little bit 
of Jamaiky rum, too, fur I don’t see how they can 
keep that out of the air any more’n the ither things ; 

84 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

an’ Mike Follory, her husband, who married her 
afther me brother died, towld her it ’u’d be jist as 
chape to go down there an’ get well, an’ be able to 
take in washin’ like she used to, as to stay here an’ be 
dyin’ fur nobody knows how long. An’ Missis McGee 
she offered to board him fur two dollars a week till his 
wife coom home, all fur the love she bore Missis Fol- 
lory. But niver an inch would Missis Follory budge. 
Then her fri’nds an’ relations they put their heads 
togither, an’ they says, ‘ She’s got to go!’ An’, all 
unbeknownst to her, Mike he bought her a ticket in a 
ship that was sailin’ fur Cuby. An’ then he says to 
her, ‘If ye won’t go to the West Injees to get back 
yer lungs, perhaps ye won’t moind takin’ a sail on 
the bay with me an’ Misther Boon,’ which is me, 
mum. She didn’t moind, an’ she wint. An’ whin 
she got outside the bar the ship joggled her a good 
deal, an’ Misther Follory an’ me we towld her she’d 
better go down-stairs an’ lie down till the ship 
turned roond to coom back, which she did. Then me 
an’ Misther Follory we got into the poilot-boat an’ 
coom home. An’ Missis Follory she got sicker an’ 
sicker till she died on the second day of the v’yage. 
But it was saysickness she died of, mum, an’ not con- 
sumption. She’d got well of that if she’d only once 
set foot in Cuby. An’ Misther Follory he married 
Missis McGee. So ye see, mum, there’s a way fur 
makin’ people do things fur their own good, as won’t 
do ’em without bein’ made. If I was ye, mum, 
I’d go to my son, mum, an’ I’d say, ‘John, Misther 
Boon, as keeps the apple-stand, has jist towld me that 
there’s a st’amer down the East Biver that’s goin’ to 
sail fur some of them down South places this afther- 
85 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


noon, which the steward of brings bananas to Misther 
Boon every thrip $ an 7 if I was ye, I’d go down South 
in that st’amer, an’ buy a lot of chape cabbages an’ 
pittaties, an’ coom back an’ foind the waiters all 
workin’ p’aceable in their jackets, an’ sell the pitta- 
ties an’ cabbages to the boss.’ ” 

“That would be very nice,” said Mrs. People, throw- 
ing away the core of her apple, “but I wouldn’t want 
my son John to die in two days of seasickness. An’ I 
don’t believe he’d go, anyway. But I must hurry on, 
Mr. Boon. I am much obliged to you for your story, 
though it’s a great pity that your sister-in-law died, 
an’ everybody in the kitchen may be boycotted by 
this time, for all I know.” 

“Ye need niver be afraid of yer son dyin’ with say- 
sickness,” shouted Dennis after her, “fur he’s got a 
moighty different koind of a set-up from what Missis 
Follory had.” 

When Mrs. People reached Yatoldi’s she did not 
immediately see John, but she explained to Enoch her 
delay by recounting to him, with all its details, her 
conversation with Mr. Boon. 

Somewhat to her surprise, Mr. Bullripple listened to 
her with patience, and even interest, and when she 
had finished said : “Now, don’t say a word to John 
about this till you and me has had time to talk the 
matter over a little more. I’ve got to go now to 
attend to some things outside.” 

Thereupon Mrs. People betook herself to the 
kitchen, and Mr. Bullripple went to see Dennis Boon, 
with whom he had an earnest talk. 

“Now, look here, sir,” said Mr. Boon, after listening 
attentively to some remarks from the old man, “that 
86 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


sort of thing moight do very well wid Missis Follory, 
wid most of her lungs gone, but it’s altogither another 
piece of business wid a sthout young mon like Misther 
People. I can stand on me own legs as well as the 
nixt mon, but Pm the feyther of a fam’ly, an’ I don’t 
want me head cracked, even if I am the top mon in 
the ind.” 

“ Don’t you trouble yourself about that,” said Mr. 
Bullripple. “When my nephew comes back he’ll find 
himself better off than he ever was before in his life, 
and, instead of fighting anybody, he’ll want to shake 
hands all round and stand treat.” 

“It moight be fur his good,” said Dennis, “to take 
a thrip loike that, an’ git acquainted wid the chape 
cabbage an’ pittaty men.” 

“It’ll be for his good in a lot of ways,” said Enoch. 
“You don’t suppose his mother and me would be 
wantin’ to send him away if it wasn’t for his good. 
Now, if you’ll attend to this business for me, we’ll just 
give you the thanks of the whole family, and I’ll throw 
in five dollars besides. And if you have to spend 
anything, I’ll pay it back to you.” 

“All roight, sir ! all roight ! ” exclaimed Dennis, 
vigorously changing the positions of a dozen large 
apples which stood in a row. “I’m not the mon to 
back down from sarvin’ a whole fam’ly in disthress. 
Ye sind him to me, sir, an’ I’ll fix it all sthraight. 
I don’t ask fur me foive dollars nayther, but I won’t be 
mane enough to run ag’in’ the intherests of me own 
children, an’ the clothes they could buy for the 
money.” 

When Enoch Bullripple got back to Vatoldi’s he 
found his nephew John in a very bad humor. A prod- 
87 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


uce-dealer who had long served him with vegetables 
had been influenced by the boycotters to decline to 
furnish Vatoldi’s with any further supplies in his line 
until the demands of the waiters had been complied 
with. This action on the part of the dealer, to whom 
Vatoldi’s had been a most excellent customer, so en- 
raged John that he vowed that under no circumstances 
would he ever again buy anything from that man. It 
was, therefore, with a wrathful independence of spirit 
that he listened to his uncle’s statement that the man 
who kept the apple-stand two blocks below would be 
glad to make him acquainted with the steward of the 
steamer which was to sail that afternoon, who would, 
no doubt, make a contract with him to bring him from 
the South all the vegetables he wanted, and a great 
deal better ones, and cheaper than he could get them 
here. 

When Mr. Bullripple had said this, he said no more, 
but went about his duties, and John went about his 
own. But at noon John put on his hat, and leaving 
the establishment, at which few luncheon-desiring 
customers had yet arrived, to the care of his uncle, he 
went out to see the apple -man. 

Dennis Boon was very eloquent in regard to the 
subject of obtaining early vegetables direct from the 
South. John listened attentively, but did not say 
much in reply. He was not as angry as he had been, 
but he was still determined to free himself from the 
power of the dealers in vegetables. If one could be 
influenced by the boycotters, so might the others. 

“I’ll tell ye, Misther People,” said Dennis Boon, 
“what I’ll do fur ye. I’ll go down to that st’amer wid 
ye, an’ inthroduce ye to the steward. He’s a foine 
88 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


eye for bananas, an’ all lie knows about tbim lie 
knows about termatties an 7 swate pittaties. If be 
can’t fetch ye tbim things himself, he’ll make a con- 
thract for ye with thim as can sind ’em. Now, whin 
can ye go down to the pier wid me ? ” 

John replied that he could go between three and 
four o’clock that afternoon, that being the time when 
he had most leisure. Having made these arrange- 
ments, he went back to Yatoldi’s, perceiving as he 
neared the door that the sidewalks had been freshly 
sprinkled with the boycotters’ circulars, which many 
passers-by were picking up and reading. 

When John went to the bank that afternoon, his 
report to Mr. Stull, combined with that gentleman’s 
own observations during the day, might have been ex- 
pected to produce a depressing effect upon the mind 
of the proprietor of Yatoldi’s. But the mind of Mr. 
Stull was not to be thus depressed. As a thoroughly 
equipped restaurant-keeper, engaged in combat with 
a host of recusant employees, his abilities shone at 
their brightest. The business at Yatoldi’s was demor- 
alized in every branch $ many of the regular custom- 
ers kept away, not only on account of the present 
inferior service, but for fear of disturbance ; and al- 
though the tables at some hours were moderately well 
filled, it was by people who were brought there by 
curiosity, or by a desire to assist the oppressed. These 
were not the patrons Mr. Stull wanted, for he knew 
that Yatoldi’s could only be supported by customers 
who came there for their own good. Most of the new 
waiters were unpractised and inefficient, and, worse 
than that, several had left the night before, being 
frightened by the boycotters, and there was danger 

89 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


that the whole force might decamp at any moment. 
But the soul of Mr. Stull rose grandly above this 
storm. He assured John that he would never give in 
to the demands of the rascals, and that no coat-tail 
should ever profane his establishment. 

“If I could come forward in my own proper per- 
son,” he said, raising his tall and large-boned figure to 
its greatest height, “which, as you well know, my 
present social and business position forbids, I would 
show those waiters that they were running against a 
wall of rock when they ran against me. But as I 
cannot do this, I expect you to stand up in my 
place.” 

Thereupon Mr. Stull loaded his manager with in- 
junctions and directions. He instructed him in the 
methods by which Mr. Bullripple and Mrs. People 
could be made even more useful than they now were. 
He approved of efforts to obtain direct supplies of 
Southern products. And he poured into John’s mind 
more points of restaurant management, joined with 
defence against boy cotters, than that receptacle could 
well contain. 

As John went away to keep his appointment with 
the apple-man, he took off his hat and walked with it 
in his hand $ his head required cooling. Dennis was 
ready for him, and the two took a street-car for the 
pier. John noticed that his companion carried in his 
hand a cheap but new valise, well filled ; but, not be- 
ing in the habit of asking questions about the business 
of other people, he did not allude to it. 

On reaching the steamer they found it a scene of 
great activity $ and when they went on board, Dennis 
90 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


left his companion and hurried forward. In a few 
moments he returned, and said to John : “By Jarge, 
sir, they’re jist a-goin’ to sthart ! But the steward he 
tills me that if we’d loike to take a little thrip doon 
the bay, an’ coom back with the poilot, he’ll have 
toime to talk wid ye about the vigitables, which he 
says he can git ye by the cart-load three times a week, 
an’ as chape as the dirt they grow in.” 

“But won’t we be charged for such a trip?” asked 
John. 

“And do ye s’pose ye’d be expected to pay fur a 
small sail like that whin ye’re jist takin’ it to make a 
conthract wid one of the ship’s officers? Bedad, sir, 
there’ll be none of that ! ” 

In the present condition of his brow and his body, 
John was very willing to refresh himself with a trip 
down the bay ; and although he did not think he 
could very well spare the time, his inclinations, com- 
bined with what he believed to be a duty, induced 
him to agree to the apple -man’s proposal. 

There were very few passengers going South at that 
time of the year, and John had the after-deck to him- 
self. When the steamer started, Mr. Boon’s expres- 
sions of delight at the pleasures of the excursion were 
vehement and frequent. 

“Even if ye niver buy so much as a pittaty skin, 
this thrip will be worth the little throuble ye took to 
git it, by manes of its fillin’ yer lungs wid say air, an’ 
settin’ you up sthrong ag’in fur yer work.” 

Every ten or fifteen minutes the worthy Irishman 
went forward to see if the time had come for John’s 
business to be attended to, but always returned saying 
91 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


that the steward was very busy, but that he would see 
Mr. People in plenty of time. 

“How far do they go out before the pilot leaves 
them?” asked John, who knew very little of marine 
affairs. 

“Oh, a long ways,” answered Dennis, “fur they’ve 
got to git clane clare of all the sand-bars afore they 
let go of him. An’ ye needn’t be afraid that me, the 
feyther of a fam’ly that’s expectin’ me to coom home 
to supper, an’ thin be off to the stand to let Pat coom 
an’ git his, is goin’ to be lift. I’ve tried this thing 
afore, Misther People, an’ I’m not the mon to git lift 
by the poilot.” 

The water was beginning to be pretty rough, and 
the sea-breeze very fresh, when Dennis came to John 
and informed him that the steward was ready now to 
see him, and would he come down-stairs. 

John had so much enjoyed the unaccustomed 
pleasure of this water excursion that he had almost 
forgotten there were such things as cabbages and 
potatoes, and when he followed Dennis below he did 
not notice that the engine had stopped and that the 
speed of the steamer was slacking. 

“Jist set down there,” said Dennis, “an’ I’ll fetch 
him in a minute.” 

Then the apple-man hurried on deck, descended 
into the pilot-boat, and returned to Hew York. 

The report of Mr. Boon was eagerly listened to by 
Enoch Bullripple. “And you gave my letter, with 
the ticket in it, to somebody to hand to him, and you 
put his valise in the room I engaged for him ? ” 

“Yis,” said Dennis, “I did all of thim things, an’ I 
put two apples on his bid to remoind him of home. 

92 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


He’ll be a happy mon, Misther Bullripple, to-morrow 
an’ the nixt day, a-v’yagin’ over the p’aceful say, an’ 
coom back sthrong an’ hearty, an’ ready to let ye 
an’ his lady mither go back to yer home in the rural 
disthricts. An’ I give the poilot a dollar, an’ me 
carfare was tin cints.” 


93 


CHAPTEK VIII 


The Saturday and Sunday on which Mr. Crisman 
chose to join a yachting excursion, instead of making 
the visit to Cherry Bridge which had been expected 
of him, were two of the most charming days of June ; 
and although Mrs. Justin remarked several times that 
it was a great pity Mr. Crisman could not be with 
them in this lovely weather, she was obliged to admit 
that such weather must also be very delightful on the 
water. Miss Gay made no remarks concerning Mr. 
Crisman’s absence, but she seemed to be doing a great 
deal of thinking, either on this subject or some other. 
As for Mr. Stratford, it could not have made much 
difference to him whether or not Mr. Crisman was 
there on the Saturday, for he spent the greater part 
of that day in writing letters. 

Shortly after breakfast Miss Gay went into the par- 
lor with some books, and after remaining there for a 
quarter of an hour or more she went out on the piazza, 
where she ensconced herself comfortably in a large 
arm-chair to read. She did not stay there very long, 
however, but returned to the parlor, which, after all, 
was perhaps a more secluded place at this hour, and 
better adapted to purposes of study. The household 
affairs to which Mrs. Justin attended, and the long 
94 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

conversation she afterwards had with her farmer, 
could have been attended to and carried on as well 
upon a rainy day as during this beautiful morning. 
It may therefore be said that Mr. Thorne was the 
only one of the little party who thoroughly enjoyed 
the atmosphere of sunshine, tempered by the morning 
breezes, which threw its yellow light into the dark- 
green tones of the dew-besprinkled grass and upon 
the fresh new foliage of the trees, and who breathed 
with full appreciation the blossom-scented air. 

He breathed this air on the lawn, where the dewy 
grass dampened his boots; then he breathed it on 
the piazza, where for twenty minutes or more he 
walked steadily up and down. Then he looked into 
the library, where Stratford was writing, and after 
that he went into the parlor, and seeing Miss Gay 
there, he said he hoped he was not interrupting 
her studies. Miss Gay laid the book in her lap, and 
said she was not studying, but reading. Mr. Thorne 
took up one of Miss Gay’s books which lay on the 
table, and asked if its subject was a new study, or 
whether she had been engaged upon it while in col- 
lege. The answer to this question led to a number of 
inquiries from Mr. Thorne in regard to the young 
lady’s past studies and future intentions in that line. 
This was a subject in which he took a deep and intel- 
ligent interest, and it was impossible that Gay should 
not also take an interest in the conversation which 
followed ; but, although she talked with willingness, 
and even with some earnestness, her mind frequently 
wandered from the subject in hand. She felt that 
this was what might be considered a temporary con- 
versation, carried on while expecting something else. 

95 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


But she listened and talked as well and as pleasantly 
as she could until Mrs. Justin came into the room, 
when, indeed, a faint shadow of disappointment passed 
over her face as she looked up and saw that it was 
Mrs. Justin. 

The rector of the parish, with Miss Patty, his seven- 
teen-year-old daughter, came to dinner. But shortly 
after that meal he drove away to make another paro- 
chial visit, leaving Miss Patty, at Mrs. Justin’s solici- 
tation, to be picked up on his return. A four-handed 
game of croquet was now possible, notwithstanding 
Mr. Stratford had driven over to the Bullripple farm. 
As Miss Patty was a mere beginner at the game, which 
had scarcely been played at all during her school- 
days, it was necessary that Mrs. Justin, being the best 
player of the party, should take her as a partner. 

Miss Armatt had no reason whatever to object to Mr. 
Thorne as a partner, but she did not seem to care very 
much for croquet that afternoon. Mr. Thorne assisted 
her in every possible, legitimate way, but he did not 
direct her course and manage her play as Mr. Stratford 
had done. Gay, indeed, did not appear to desire this, 
and developed a certain degree of independence which 
had not been at all observable when she played before. 
She went through her wickets as rapidly as possible, 
and ended in becoming a rover before her partner had 
reached the turning-stake. This was a very different 
style of play from that upon which Mr. Stratford had 
so pleasantly and wisely insisted, and the result was 
that Mrs. Justin and Patty, by keeping their balls 
together, won the game, although their progress to 
victory, owing to the uncertain play of the younger 
lady, was very slow and dubious. 

96 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Mr. Thorne accompanied the ladies to church the 
next morning ; and in the afternoon the four friends 
set out for a long stroll over the fields and hills. With 
the natural bias of the younger man toward the 
younger lady of a party, Arthur Thorne walked with 
Miss Gay, following the other couple quite closely, 
however, as Mrs. Justin seemed desirous of a general 
chat as they strolled along. Gay was not in very ani- 
mated spirits, and, in fact, seemed a little bored by 
the walk ; and this, being soon noticed by Mrs. Justin, 
was not altogether displeasing to that lady. She had 
not forgiven Mr. Crisman for preferring a yachting 
expedition to the society of his lady-love, but she be- 
lieved it due to propriety that, in some degree, Gay 
should feel his absence. 

When they began the ascent of a long grass- covered 
hill, which in some parts of our country would be 
termed a little mountain, the party scattered some- 
what, and Gay, who was very light of foot, soon found 
herself in the lead. Stratford, however, who was also 
a good uphill walker, overtook her before very long, 
and the two continued their way together. About 
this time, probably owing to the altitude of the hill 
and the slightly increased rarefaction of the air, Gay’s 
spirits began to rise, and she talked in quite an ani- 
mated way about the distant scenery which now 
showed itself. She still pressed vigorously onward 
and upward, Stratford keeping pace with her; and 
the two, without knowing that they were leaving their 
companions out of sight, passed over the brow of the 
hill and down a slight declivity on the other side 
toward an extensive grove of sugar-maples, which 
was one of the objects of their walk. They reached 
97 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


the grove and passed some distance into its shade, and 
then they rested and waited for their companions. 
These not making their appearance, Stratford and 
Miss Gay walked slowly along one of the winding 
wood roads which led them through the grove, and 
out upon an eminence surmounted by a rail fence 
which formed part of the boundary between Mrs. 
Justin’s estate and that of her neighbor. 

This eminence, Stratford assured his companion, 
was one of the best spots in that part of the country 
from which to view the approaching sunset, and here 
he proposed they should wait for Mrs. Justin and Mr. 
Thorne. One of the top rails of the fence was very 
broad and firm, and as Gay was rather tired from her 
climb and walk, Stratford assisted her to take a seat 
upon it ; and the rail being strong enough to support 
them both, he sat upon it also. 

The sun, with its accustomed regularity of move- 
ment, slowly went down, but Mrs. Justin and Thorne 
did not come up. Gay wondered at their delay, but 
she soon forgot them in gazing upon the glories of 
yellow, red, and gold which began to spread over the 
western sky, reaching upward from the tender green 
which lay along the horizon to the pink flush which, 
half-way toward the zenith, met the deep overhanging 
blue. 

No such scene as this was ever visible from the 
lower country by Cherry Bridge, and Gay sat and 
looked upon it as if it had been a revelation. Beauti- 
ful cloud-forms glowed in this rich color and in that, 
and faded away, through lilac and pink, to rose-tinted 
gray, and out of the vast ether came other outlines of 
clouds, to be delicately tinted and to fade away. 

98 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


The evening star began to twinkle through the dull 
golden mists, when Stratford stepped down from the 
fence, and, saying that he did not believe that the 
others were coming at all, proposed to Miss Gay that 
they should return to the house. 

"With one lingering look above and around her, Gay 
gave her hand to her companion and sprang from the 
fence. They walked rapidly down toward the maple 
grove, and when they reached it they found that 
although the sky was still glowing with light, the 
shades of the grove were shades indeed. It was so 
dark that Gay was very much surprised, and she de- 
clared if she had been alone it would have been 
utterly impossible for her to find her way along that 
indistinguishable wood road. But she was not alone, 
and Mr. Stratford knew the road well, having walked 
it by day and by night. It was necessary that she 
should take his arm to avoid tripping over unseen 
obstacles, and they walked slowly. Gay was not the 
least afraid, and her eyes becoming accustomed to the 
gloom of the grove, she was almost as much entranced 
by its weird and sombre beauties as she had been by 
the glories of the sunset. 

Even when they came out of the woods and walked 
under the open sky, they could not hasten, for the 
shades of night were now upon them, and a misstep 
on the hillside might prove unpleasant. Slowly they 
strolled homeward under the points of starlight that 
began to twinkle above them, and Stratford for the 
most part talked, and Gay for the most part listened ; 
and whatever feelings of impatience or disappointment 
or boredom she may have had during that day or the 
one preceding now disappeared altogether. 

99 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


It was quite dark when they walked over the lawn 
toward the house, but Gay felt no compunctions of 
conscience at having stayed out so late. She had been 
with Mr. Stratford, and that fact, to her mind, gave to 
the proceeding all the sanction that it needed. 

Mrs. Justin and Arthur Thorne had taken a path 
through the maple grove which led them to a point 
from which the rail fence where Stratford and Miss 
Gay had seated themselves was not visible. Seeing 
nothing of their companions, they had returned the 
way they came, and reached the house about the time 
that the sunset began to fade. 

When Miss Gay and Stratford arrived, Mrs. Justin 
made no remarks concerning the lateness of the hour, 
for she did not consider that she had a right to scold 
grown-up people, one of whom was engaged to be 
married. But she remembered that when Mr. Cris- 
man and Gay had walked together, they had not kept 
supper waiting. 

The next day Mr. Thorne returned to the city, and 
exchanged the hues of forest and field for the lugu- 
brious colors of his apartments. But into the midst 
of those dull greens and yellows, those clay-reds and 
weak blues, he brought the delicate flush on a young 
girl’s cheek, the deep blue of her large eyes, the pink 
of her lips, and the sunny brownness of her hair. As 
he meditatively leaned back against the long thin rods 
which formed the back of his antique chair, these 
colors were very forcibly brought out by the sombre 
propriety of his surroundings. 

After breakfast on that morning Miss Gay did not 
wander from parlor to piazza to find a suitable place 
in which to pursue her studies. She carried the an- 
100 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


cient atlas and the books directly to the place where 
she had last looked oyer them with Mr. Stratford, and 
in ten minutes he came there and joined her. The 
atlas and the books were opened, and again they fol- 
lowed the meandering streams of the springs of litera- 
ture. It was not very long before Mrs. Justin made 
one of the party, and she interested herself to a con- 
siderable degree in their investigations ; but household 
affairs interfered with the permanence of her stay, and 
Gay was able to appreciate the immense advantages 
of study and companionship with a kindly sympathetic 
though dominant mind over the lonely journeys which 
she had often made into the region of intellectual 
investigation. 

During the next five days Mrs. People was still 
absent from the Bullripple farm, and Mr. Stratford 
remained at the mansion of Mrs. Justin. On any 
of these days, when Mrs. Justin had the company of 
either Stratford or Gay, she generally had that of 
both of them. Sometimes she did not find them at 
all, for they seemed to be subject to sudden determi- 
nations to row or stroll. They did not treat her dis- 
courteously on these occasions, for they invariably 
asked her to accompany them if she were anywhere 
about $ but it was astonishing to herself how seldom 
she happened to be about at the right moment for an 
invitation. 

At last Mrs. Justin could endure this state of things 
no longer, and determined to speak. It was not neces- 
sary to ask anything of Gay, for the estimation in 
which that young lady held Mr. Stratford not only 
grew and brightened, as the day grows and brightens 
after the rising of the sun, but was quite as clear and 
101 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


apparent to Mrs. Justin as any light of day could be. 
Against the brightness of this esteem there never rose 
a cloud of obscuring vapor from the Crismanic fires 
which Mrs. Justin firmly believed still glowed deep 
down in the soul of Gay Armatt. This absence of 
even transient obscuration troubled much the mind of 
Mrs. Justin, for even the fires of the strongest volcano 
must go out if the vents are permanently stopped. 

As it was not needed to question Gay, who spoke so 
often and so freely of Mr. Stratford, it would be also 
a very delicate and difficult matter to advise her ; and 
it was for these reasons that Mrs. Justin decided to 
speak to Stratford. She would have a plain talk with 
him, and tell him all her mind. With this object, she 
invited him to drive her to the village in his buggy. 
For an earnest tete-a-tete there are few places better 
than a buggy. Interruption is scarcely probable, 
unless a wheel comes off. 

When they were well on the road, Mrs. Justin 
plunged into the subject. “Do you appreciate,” she 
said, “the influence which your constant companion- 
ship is having upon Gay Armatt ? ” 

“What is the influence?” asked Stratford. 

“It is the influence of a man who completely absorbs 
the attention and interest of a young woman. I be- 
lieve that when Gay is not reading or walking or 
talking with you, she mentally places you before her 
so that she can follow you in her thoughts. I know 
that she does that when she is with me, for she is satis- 
fied to talk of nothing but you. I believe at this 
moment she thinks more of you, and better of you, 
than of any man in the world.” 

102 • - 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“And of this you do not approve / 7 he said, “ there 
being no just foundation for such an opinion ? 77 

“On the contrary , 77 said Mrs. Justin, vehemently, 
“there is so much foundation that I have sometimes 
almost wished that you could be suddenly turned into 
the most ordinary of men. It is the fact that you do 4 
possess those qualities which must attract the admira- 
tion and regard of a girl like Gay that gives you your 
influence over her . 77 

“And why should not that influence be exerted ? 77 
asked Stratford. 

“You know very well , 77 was the quick answer. “If 
this influence does not cease, it will end in the com- 
plete alienation of Mr. Crisman and Gay Armatt . 77 

“And that , 77 said Stratford, “is exactly what I want 
to bring about . 77 

Mrs. Justin started, and turning suddenly toward 
her companion, she looked at him with wide-open 
eyes, but said not a word. 

“You have spoken plainly to me, Mrs. Justin , 77 con- 
tinued Stratford, “and I am going to speak quite as 
plainly to you. I consider Gay Armatt a phenome- 
nally fine girl. From what you had told me, I ex- 
pected to find her a most interesting student, but I 
did not expect to find her an independent thinker, 
with a sensitive susceptibility to inspirations such as 
I have not known before, and a mind as fine and noble 
as the objects it fixes itself upon. I had scarcely 
known this girl before I found out that she was 
engaged to be married to a man who was utterly 
unworthy of her and unfit for her, and whose union 
with her would put an end to all her purposes and 
103 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


aspirations, and finish by degrading her, as nearly as 
such a thing is possible, to his level . 77 

“I do not believe it ! 77 exclaimed Mrs. Justin. 
“She would elevate him . 77 

“Excuse me , 77 said Stratford, “but you are entirely 
wrong. He is not capable of being elevated ; and if 
he were, he has no desire to be elevated. His mar- 
riage with Gay Armatt would put an absolute end to 
what we now look upon as her career. I know this, 
and I do not see how you can help knowing it . 77 

“I must admit , 77 said Mrs. Justin, “that I have 
feared this, and that I have spent hours in thinking 
about it. But I have a better opinion of Mr. Crisman 
than you have $ I have more faith in Gay than you 
have $ and I trust to her power over him. But this 
should not be the question. Gay has promised Mr. 
Crisman to marry him, and, to my mind, this is just 
the same as if these two persons were already married. 
To do anything which would induce her to break this 
engagement is positively and absolutely wicked . 77 

“I cannot agree with you , 77 said Stratford. “An 
engagement is not the same as a marriage . 77 

“Mr. Stratford , 77 said Mrs. Justin, “it is of no use 
for us to argue this question. All that we should con- 
sider is that these two young people love each other 
and desire to be man and wife ; and you have no right 
to come between them . 77 

“How did Miss Armatt happen to be engaged to 
Crisman ? 77 asked Stratford. “Was he not her first 
lover ? 77 

“Yes , 77 said Mrs. Justin ; “the first and only one . 77 

“I thought so , 77 he said, “and that explains the situ- 
ation exactly. As I said before, she is a girl of sensi- 
104 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


tive susceptibility ; be is tbe first handsome young 
fellow who made love to her, and she accepted him. 
In some respects her character is unformed, but she 
ought not to be made to suffer on that account.” 

“ Your kindly disposition is as phenomenal as Gay’s 
mind,” said Mrs. Justin. 

Stratford made no answer to this, nor did he smile. 

“Mrs. Justin,” he said, “you have helped this young 
girl to become what she is, and have put her in a 
position from which she can go on and take her place 
among the eminent men and women of her day. Now, 
I intend to save her from losing all you gave her. You 
expect her to become one of the brightest jewels in 
your crown. I intend to prevent her from dropping 
from that crown and being trampled in the mud.” 

“Do you mean to say,” said Mrs. Justin, “that you 
deliberately propose to break off this engagement?” 

“If it shall be possible,” said Stratford, “I intend to 
alienate Miss Armatt’s affections from Crisman by 
making her understand the value of the companion- 
ship of better men than he is. I do not hesitate to say 
that I consider myself a much better man than he is.” 

“A noble undertaking ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Justin. 
“And when you have made her cast him off, you will 
kindly marry her yourself ! ” 

“I shall do nothing of the sort,” said Stratford. “I 
knew you would think that, and perhaps say it, but 
you are mistaken. Positively, I shall not marry her.” 

“And what will you do with her,” asked Mrs. Justin, 
“when you have torn her affections from her lover 
and fixed them on yourself? Will you cast her, heart- 
broken, out upon the world ? ” 

“Your language is very strong, Mrs. Justin, and 
105 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


you do injustice to my motives. Miss Armatt is not 
one to be thrown out on the world, as you put it. 
She is a young woman whom to win would be an am- 
bition worthy the best man of our day. Once freed 
from this absolutely unsuitable engagement, into 
which she entered because her young soul knew so 
little about men, she will be free to marry a man who 
is worthy of her, and there is no danger but that man 
will appear.” 

“But,” said Mrs. Justin, “it is not to be supposed 
that he will appear instantly. It may be a year or 
two before she meets the man you think she ought to 
marry. Is she to be left unprotected from other Cris- 
mans all this time? Or do you intend to carry her 
over the gap?” 

“I shall carry her over the gap,” said Stratford. 

Mrs. Justin laughed outright, but not in merriment. 
“What an utter piece of absurdity ! ” she exclaimed. 
“Why, Mr. Stratford,” she added, with much earnest- 
ness, “don’t you know enough of men’s hearts and 
women’s hearts to understand that if you should win 
Gay from Crisman, and then desire to give her up to 
another man, which I do not in the least believe you 
would desire, that you could not do it? Cannot you 
see, as plainly as you see the road before you, that 
Gay’s affections would by that time be so firmly fixed 
upon you that she would not be given up? Giving 
up would be impossible for either of you. Now, 
don’t you think you will be much more true to your- 
self, should you determine to persevere in carrying 
out this plan, which I call an iniquitous one, frankly 
to admit that if you get Gay Armatt away from Mr. 
Crisman you will marry her yourself? ” 

106 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“I intend to carry out my plan/’ said Stratford, 
“and I shall not marry Miss Armatt.” 

“Stuff and nonsense ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Justin ; and 
as they were now entering the village, the conversa- 
tion ceased. 

As they were driving homeward, Stratford said : 
“You know very well, Mrs. Justin, that I have the 
highest possible regard for what you think and say ; 
but, in this case, even your opinion cannot turn me 
from my determination to save this young girl, if I 
can, and give her a chance to make her life what it 
ought to be. But, now that I know that you disap- 
prove of what I am doing, I do not think it is right 
that I should remain at your house. But you must 
not suppose that I am going away with any feeling of 
resentment. I know you so well that nothing you 
have said surprises me; and, indeed, looking upon 
you as yourself, I am not sure that I should be satisfied 
should you entertain any opinions on this matter 
other than those you have expressed to me.” 

“I might have expressed them more gently,” said 
she, “but, indeed, Mr. Stratford, this is a matter 
which I feel very deeply. I suppose, of course, that, 
remembering what you have said, I ought not to wish 
you to stay with us while Gay is here, but it is to me 
one of the saddest features of the whole affair that 
there should be any objection to your staying in my 
house.” 

“I thank you most kindly for that,” said Stratford. 

“But you can’t go to the farm-house,” she said. 
“Mrs. People has not returned, and there is no one to 
take care of you.” 

“Oh, I shall do very well,” said he. “Now that 
107 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Thorne has gone, I shall not mind being there with- 
out Mrs. People. But I suppose she will return in a 
few days ; and, in any case, I shall make a visit to the 
city next week.” 

Nothing was said for some minutes, and then Mrs. 
Justin exclaimed : “I do wish, Mr. Stratford, that 
you could see this affair as I see it ! If you could, I 
am sure you would instantly abandon your purpose.” 

“How different we are !” said Stratford. “I hope, 
and what is more, I expect, that the day will come 
when you will say, although you may not even then 
believe, that my methods were proper, that their 
result has been most happy.” 

“You may think,” said Mrs. Justin, “and you have 
reason for it, that you are a man who is never turned 
from his purpose. You may be very steadfast in your 
present purpose of merely carrying Gay over that gap, 
but you will be turned from it.” 

“By whom?” asked Stratford. 

“By Gay. You will marry her.” 

When Mr. Stratford took leave of the ladies that after- 
noon, Gay Armatt did not feel so sorry as she would 
have felt if she had not known that Mr. Crisman was 
coming in the evening train. She was a woman now, 
and all sorts of young and half-fledged sentiments 
were fluttering into her soul, some flying restlessly 
about and then out again, and some settling first here 
and then there, as if very uncertain whether they 
ought to stay or not. But one little sentiment nestled 
down as if it felt itself at home, and it made Gay feel 
that while Mr. Crisman was with her it was just as 
well that Mr. Stratford should be away. There was 
108 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


no reason connected with this sentiment. It was 
nothing but a little partly feathered thing that did 
not know itself where it had come from. It found 
Gay’s soul a very quiet and pleasant place in which 
to nestle, for the young lady did not know that Mr. 
Stratford was not coming to the house again while she 
was there. 


109 


CHAPTER IX 

When Mr. Enoch Bullripple found himself with the 
Yatoldi establishment upon his hands, with John 
People steaming southward down the coast, and an 
unknown proprietor far away in some hazy distance, 
he rubbed his horny hands with much satisfaction. 
He had never managed a restaurant, and under ordi- 
nary circumstances he would not have considered him- 
self competent to undertake such responsibility ; but 
this was a peculiar case, and Enoch believed himself 
fully able to treat it in the peculiar fashion which he 
had in view. He was a shrewd, quick-witted man, 
and in the course of his varied life had adapted him- 
self to a great many out-of-the-way circumstances. 

He had but a single object in this scheme of getting 
control of Vatoldi’s, and that was to discover the 
owner, the man behind the scenes. That this owner 
was determined not to come forward into public view 
was plain enough, for if anything would have brought 
him forward, it would have been the recent disturb- 
ance of his business. That, for some reason, John was 
determined not to reveal the identity of this person 
was equally plain. 

That John himself was at the head of affairs was a 
supposition well enough suited to the public mind, 
110 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


but Mr. Bullripple’s mind would not entertain it for 
a moment. In the first place, he knew that his nephew 
had not the capital nor the interest to control such a 
business, and that he did not enjoy the income nor 
the independence which it would have given him $ 
and, more than this, he did not believe that John had 
the ability to plan and carry on the admirable organi- 
zation which had given Vatoldi’s its reputation and 
its success. That John had abilities of a high order 
his uncle did not doubt, but these, in Enoch’s belief, 
were the abilities to do well what he was told to do. 
If he could find out the man who told his nephew 
what he was to do, and who rewarded him so indiffer- 
ently for doing it, he did not doubt but he could make 
a very considerable revolution in the state of affairs, 
and one which would result to John’s advantage. He 
had his nephew’s welfare very much at heart, and he 
did not share his sister’s opinion that the young man 
should return to them and become a farmer. From 
his own experience and observation, he believed that 
there was more money in restaurant-keeping than in 
farming. 

When Mrs. People heard that her son had gone off 
on a sea trip, she was glad of it, of course, because she 
believed he needed such a trip $ but she was very much 
disturbed that he had not taken leave of her. Of the 
means employed to send John away Enoch told her 
nothing. She was not a person who could prevent 
the outside world from sharing in any information 
which she possessed, and besides, she would have been 
very much troubled, and, therefore, might have very 
much interfered with her brother’s plans had she 
known that John had gone off against his will. 

Ill 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“You see, Hannah/’ said Mr. Bullripple, when he 
communicated the fact of John’s departure, “there 
wasn’t no time for good-bys. The steamer started 
off sooner than he expected, and it was lucky I had 
packed his valise for him and sent it down. But now 
he’s off all right, with the best kind of weather, and 
he’ll be back in about a week, well set up with good 
sea air. And what’s more, if he’s got his wits about 
him, he ought to do a little profitable tradin’ down 
there, if it’s nothin’ but early peaches.” 

“Does Mr. Vatoldi know he has gone?” asked Mrs. 
People. 

“No, he don’t,” said Enoch. “And if he wants to 
know anythin’ about it, let him come and ask me ; 
that’s all he’s got to do. And now, Hannah,” con- 
tinued Mr. Bullripple, “as long as you and me has 
got charge here, there’s goin’ to be a change in this 
restaurant. Things is goin’ to be twisted around and 
made very different from what they was before.” 

“What’s the good of twistin’ ’em?” asked Mrs. 
People. “I’m sure John’s ways was all very good 
ways.” 

“That was all jes so,” replied her brother, “when 
the business was on its legs. But now that it’s flat on 
its back we’ve got to put a pillow under its head, and 
do a lot of things to make it comfortable. I don’t 
suppose there’ll be more customers than you and me 
can manage to do for, and if we jes keep ourselves 
bold and chipper, and let people see that we’re afraid 
of nobody, and that we’re goin’ to do what we please 
without carin’ what anybody thinks about it, it won’t 
be long before them old waiters will git tired howlin’ 
for their coat-tails, and they’ll all be beggin’ to be 
112 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

took back. And when John comes home we can jes 
hand over the place to him, and let him run it along 
as he used to.” 

“But I should think Mr. Vatoldi would have some- 
thin’ to say to all this,” said Mrs. People. 

“Very good,” replied her brother ; “all he’s got to 
do is to come and say it.” 

Yatoldi’s was closed early that evening, and Mr. 
Bullripple went to work to inaugurate the new system 
by which the establishment was to be conducted. By 
the end of the following day the place was in pretty 
good running order. All the recently engaged waiters, 
many of whom showed signs of faint-heartedness and 
might be at anytime frightened away by the boy cotters, 
were discharged, and their places were supplied by 
a body of men whose training had been received at 
what is known as the cheap American restaurant. 

If there remained extant anything of the spirit 
which used to animate the volunteer firemen of our 
city, the “Jakeys” and the “Sykeses” who “ran with 
the machine,” and considered that banging each other 
over the head with their brass horns was one of the 
necessary accompaniments of a conflagration, it re- 
mained in these men. With a bold, undaunted air 
they strolled up and down the rows of tables with the 
peculiar intrepidity of shuffle known only to waiters 
of this class. In strong, untrammelled tones they rang 
out the orders of the customers, sounding startling 
changes, brought about by continued repetition, upon 
the names of standard dishes and viands, and tossing 
to each diner his pasteboard check with an accuracy 
of aim which was sure to deposit it upon some reten- 
tive article of food. 


113 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


These men had never worn dress-coats, and the 
army and navy would have to march over their dead 
bodies before they could be made to wear them. If 
a strike were on foot in which they sympathized, not 
a fallen spoon would they pick up from the floor until 
the matter in dispute had been settled $ but in a strike 
like this at Vatoldi’s they could see no sense, and if a 
boycotter had attempted to tamper with one of them, 
he might have imagined that the volunteer fire de- 
partment had been revived, and that he and the waiter 
ran with rival companies. 

The class of restaurant to which these men belonged 
was a very familiar one to Mr. Bullripple. When he 
was in business in the city he took his meals in such 
places, and many of their prominent features were 
fixed in his memory. In its palmy days, when every- 
thing was flowing smoothly at Vatoldi’s, Enoch would 
never have advised his nephew to adopt any of these 
familiar features ; but now there had been a great 
change in the conditions of the place, and the old 
man seemed to think it necessary to act in harmony 
with this fact $ and he therefore set about making 
everything as different as possible from what it used 
to be. Placards were hung on the walls on which 
prominent articles of the ordinary bill of fare were 
inscribed in large letters of black and red. 

Mrs. People was very proud of her ability in the 
manufacture of various kinds of pie, and as soon as 
she found she could do what she pleased in the kitchen, 
she went to work with radiant delight to make and 
bake pies. Many of the largest placards were em- 
blazoned with the legend, “ Home-made pies,’ 7 fol- 
lowed by an enumeration of varieties, and the price 
114 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


per slice. A table near the door was covered with 
cans, jars, and bottles selected from the store-room on 
account of the brightness of their labels ; and on an 
adjoining table— there were plenty of them to spare 
just now— were specimens of cheese, pastry, fruit- 
cakes, etc., all covered with gauze netting to keep off 
the flies. In the two large show-windows, which had 
never before contained anything but some luxuriant 
and handsome specimens of tropical plants in aestheti- 
cally decorated jars, now appeared some of the afore- 
mentioned placards, together with plates of uncooked 
chops or steaks, a box of live crabs packed in sea- 
weed, a few particularly resplendent tin cans, with 
other objects of the sort adapted to catch the eye of 
the passer-by. 

When the boy cotters discovered John’s absence, and 
noticed the great alteration in the aspect of Vatoldi’s, 
they naturally supposed that the place had changed 
hands, and that in this way their oppressors had eluded 
the punishment which was being dealt out to them. 
But a few inquiries made to Mr. Bullripple by an 
emissary soon dispelled this notion, and they found 
that Mr. People was only temporarily absent, and that 
the establishment had not been sold, and that they 
could expect no favors from the parties in charge. 
They therefore continued their annoyances, and en- 
deavored, by every method with which they did not 
expect police interference, to create a public feeling 
in favor of themselves and against the heel-grinding 
practised in the den called Vatoldi’s. 

When Mr. Bullripple and Mrs. People first appeared 
at Vatoldi’s, that constant customer, J. Weatherby 
Stull, met them as he would have met any man or 
115 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


woman whom, years ago, he had been in the habit of 
occasionally seeing in the neighborhood of Cherry 
Bridge, where he then lived. He spoke to them with 
a good-natured condescension, into which he infused 
enough cold dignity to show them the immense dis- 
tance between their station and his own. He asked a 
few questions in regard to crops, etc., and then ordered 
his meal and took out his newspaper. But on the day 
when he discovered John’s absence from his post 
he was surprised and uneasy ; and, although he was 
careful not to show any interest in the matter, he 
could not avoid asking Mr. Bullripple what had be- 
come of his nephew, adding that he was so accustomed 
to seeing him there that the place appeared odd with- 
out him. 

Enoch replied that John had gone away to make 
arrangements for regular supplies from the South, 
and that he would not be back for several days, per- 
haps a week. 

“But that won’t hender this place from goin’ all 
right,” added Mr. Bullripple. “John’s mother and 
me will run the place, and you can always git your 
breakfast, dinner, and supper here, Mr. Stull, with 
somethin’ to eat between meals, if you want it.” 

There was not a more astounded person in the city 
of New York than the proprietor of Yatoldi’s when 
he received this information. A hundred questions 
rushed toward his tongue, but he could ask none of 
them. His long-continued habit of guarded non-in- 
terest when performing his part of a regular patron of 
the establishment had made him very prudent, and he 
could not help feeling that more than ordinary caution 
would be required in dealing with a sharp-witted old 
116 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


man like Enoch Bullripple. So he contented himself 
with some simple remark, and turned away. 

Mr. Stull was very much disquieted. His mind was 
troubled and tossed by conjectures regarding John’s 
amazing stupidity at leaving his post, and, without 
consultation with himself, putting Vatoldi’s in charge 
of those two country clodhoppers. To be sure, John 
had spoken to him about supplies from the South, but 
nothing had been said which could possibly lead him 
to suppose that that young man would actually leave 
the city for several days, or perhaps a week. Such 
idiocy, such criminal insubordination, he had never 
heard of! He could not understand it, and no sup- 
position in regard to the matter which he brought 
before his reasoning powers was able to satisfy them. 

But this state of mind was oil-smoothed tranquillity 
compared to the typhoon of emotions which swept 
through him as he now noticed the changes which 
Mr. Bullripple had wrought in Vatoldi’s— that ideal 
restaurant, which was at once his pride, his profit, and 
his closet skeleton. When he saw the firemen-like 
waiters striding up and down among his tables, when 
he saw the black-and-red-lettered placards bearing 
the words, “Clam Chowder,” “Golden Buck,” “A Fry 
in a Box,” “A Stew in a Pail,” but particularly when 
he saw the sign, “Home-made Pies, Five Cents a Slice,” 
did the blood of Mr. Stull run in his veins like trick- 
ling streams from a glacier. He was so much astonished 
by the aspect of the place that he forgot to sit down, 
and stood almost motionless at the end of a table, 
until one of the new waiters strode up to him, and in 
a correspondingly strident voice inquired, “Have ye 
give yer order ? ” 


117 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


For a few minutes Mr. Stull felt as if his whole 
nature demanded that he should rise up and assert 
himself — that then and there he should announce that 
he, J. Weatherby Stull, was lord and king of this 
establishment, and thereupon drive out the rowdy 
waiters, pack off to their home the execrable Bull- 
ripple and his sister, tear down those vile placards, 
and, if necessary, shut up the place until the time 
should come when it could be restored to its former 
high position. 

But he did not rise and speak. Even this soul -har- 
rowing desecration could not give enough courage to 
this bank president, to this owner of the highest-priced 
pew, to this dignified condescender in society, to avow 
to the world that, besides all this, he was a restaurant- 
keeper, and that it was the income from the sale of 
beefsteaks and mutton-chops, tea, coffee, and ice- 
cream, that had enabled him to establish the bank, to 
hire the pew, and to reach that high position in society 
from which he was accustomed to condescend. No, 
he could not do it. For too many years had he kept 
this vulgar source of wealth concealed from the public 
eye to allow it now to appear and stain with its 
gravies and its soups that unblemished eminence on 
which he believed himself to stand. 

There was nothing for him to do but to sit dumb 
and see all this ruinous profanation of Vatoldi’s with- 
out lifting a finger to prevent it. But if ever the 
time came when he could grind into dust the heart 
and fortunes of that rascally old farmer and his 
nephew, to whose treachery the present state of 
affairs was due, Stull swore to himself that with a 
firm and rapid hand he would grind. 

118 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


He could not eat the meal he had ordered, and 
when he had sat over it long enough, he went up to 
the desk behind which Mr. Bullripple stood. As a 
well-known and regular customer, Mr. Stull thought 
he might speak without exciting suspicion. 

“You have made great changes here, Mr. Bull- 
ripple,” he said. “I have been a patron of this estab- 
lishment for some years, and I have never seen anything 
like this before. I am not accustomed to being waited 
upon by men of this class, and I do not like to sit in 
a room surrounded by such placards as I see upon 
these walls. The place has fallen very much from its 
former condition, which was highly creditable to its 
managers and its proprietors. Was it your nephew 
who decided to make these changes ? ” 

“How, look here, Mr. Stull,” said Enoch, leaning 
forward on the desk, and speaking in a conciliatory 
tone of voice ; “John hasn’t got nothin’ to do with all 
this. John’s away on business, and till he comes back 
I’ll have to run the consarn. I’ve got head enough 
on my shoulders, Mr. Stull, to know that a place that’s 
bein’ boycotted can’t be run like a place that every- 
body’s got good words and good money for. How, till 
John gits home I’m goin’ to let them strikin’ waiters 
see that neither them nor their coat-tails is needed 
here. And let me give you a piece of advice, Mr. 
Stull. It’s easy enough to see that the kind of restau- 
rant I’m goin’ to run isn’t suited to you and your 
likin’s, and, if I was you, I’d keep away for a time. 
There’s other restaurants that would suit you better, 
and if things ever gits round to the way they used to 
be, you might come back ag’in.” 

It was difficult for Mr. Stull to control his voice 


119 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


and his manner, but he did it. “I am not accustomed,” 
he said in a tone as cold and disinterested as he could 
command, “to change the place where I take my 
meals. I have been coming here for a long time, and 
I shall continue to do so. By the way,”— and here 
Mr. Stull determined to make a somewhat hazardous 
stroke,— “do the proprietors of this establishment 
approve of these changes?” 

Mr. Bullripple leaned farther over the desk, and his 
tone became very confidential. “John never told me 
what sort of man Yatoldi is, and I’ve never asked him 
anything about him. But it’s my opinion, Mr. Stull, 
that he is a mean, sneakin’ hound who gits as much 
as he can out of other people, and gives ’em jes as little 
as he can make ’em take, and when any trouble comes 
up he puts his tail between his hind legs and sneaks 
off like a dog that’s been whipped for stealin’ victuals 
off the kitchen table, and keeps out of sight and hearin’ 
till everythin’ is all right ag’in, leavin’ other people 
to stand up and be boycotted and abused. Now, if 
that coward of a proprietor, with a ham sandwich for 
a soul, and a stale one at that, don’t like the way things 
are bein’ managed here, let him come out of his hole 
and say so to me. That’s all I want. Let him come and 
tell me what he thinks about it ! ” And, with that, the 
old man brought his hand heavily down on the desk. 

Mr. Stull was a strong man, especially in those 
mental faculties whose duty it was to guard his long- 
preserved secret, but his strength was scarcely equal 
to this occasion. If he had spoken a word he would 
have exploded like a dynamite bomb. All that he 
did was to turn away suddenly with a “Humph ! ” as 
if he had been wasting his valuable time in listening 
120 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


to this talk about matters in which he took no interest. 
He then stalked off, the condescension with which he 
stepped out of the way of an incoming customer being 
mingled with a ferocity which, had it been observed, 
must have been considered a singular combination. 

Furious as was the mind of Mr. Stull, raging as it 
did by day and by night against the cruel fate which 
obliged him to bear these insults, these wrongs, and 
these treacheries without opening his mouth or moving 
his hand in his own defence, his mental turmoil did not 
prevent his regular attendance at Vatoldi’s. He 
might, he thought, have stayed away without exciting 
remark, for his absence would naturally be attributed 
to his disgust at the present state of affairs. But he 
could not stay away. He must go there $ he must see 
what that black-hearted scoundrel of a farmer was 
doing with his property. Since the departure of John 
People no money had been paid in at the bank, the 
manager having probably neglected to inform his 
uncle of that part of the daily duties of the establish- 
ment. But Mr. Stull was not disturbed on this ac- 
count. Monstrous as he considered Enoch Bullripple’s 
conduct to be, he knew that the old man was perfectly 
honest, and he felt sure that he would account to John 
for all moneys expended, and hand over the surplus. 
That John himself was a defaulter was out of the 
question. Mr. Stull’s constant supervision never gave 
him a chance to be dishonest, and he had made his 
regular deposit on the day he left. Stull also believed 
Enoch’s statement that the young man had not be- 
trayed his secret. Ho matter to what height his 
manager’s stupid folly might rise, he still felt sure 
that he was to be trusted in this. 

121 


CHAPTER X 

Mr. Crisman spent a very pleasant Sunday at Cherry 
Bridge, and he detailed to the ladies, with much more 
satisfaction than if Mr. Stratford had been present, his 
yachting experiences of the previous week. These 
were by no means extraordinary experiences, but they 
were rather novel to Mr. Crisman, and he talked about 
them to his heart’s content. Mrs. Justin’s heart was 
content before she had heard the half of them $ and 
Gay sometimes caught herself wondering if some of 
the things her lover told were of sufficient importance 
to deserve so much careful elucidation on his part and 
attention on her own. Of course she wanted to hear 
his adventures, but she was not very desirous to be 
told precisely how Pete Cummins and Charley Slocum 
sat together in the stern, and how Abe Henderson, 
who was just abaft the mast trying to smoke out one 
of those smuggled cigars which he had bought from a 
sailor on the Battery, sung out that there was a squall 
coming and would strike them on the port quarter in 
about six minutes, and that the best thing they could 
do was to put into the island until the blow was over, 
if they stayed all night ; and how everybody aboard, 
except Tom Wilson, knew that there was no likelihood 
of a squall, or, if there were, Abe didn’t know anything 
122 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


about it, and that Abe was just trying on the nautical 
to torment Tom Wilson, who was making himself 
comfortable on a roll of sail-cloth in the bow— this 
comical Tom Wilson having on a blue flannel shirt 
which he bought too big by mistake, and full nineteen 
inches in the collar, giving him the air of a lady going 
out to an evening party, and causing him to be par- 
ticularly anxious not to go on shore and make a guy 
of himself, which, of course, he would be obliged to do 
if a squall came up. 

It was not that this, and similar incidents, possessed 
no interest for her, but Gay’s mind was a quick one, 
and could comprehend situations upon very terse pres- 
entations. Mr. Crisman’s elaboration of minutiae 
became, therefore, a little tiresome to her, although 
she did not acknowledge this to herself, and listened 
with such gentle attention that Mr. Crisman felt it 
was almost as pleasant to tell about these things as to 
be at the happening of them. 

On Sunday morning he went to church with the two 
ladies, and in the afternoon he strolled with one ; but 
the scent of the yacht trip hung around his conversa- 
tion still. But he was so good-humored, so buoyant 
and hearty in his talk and manner, and withal so 
handsome, that Gay reproached herself every time 
there came stealing into her mind a sense of distaste 
for small vessels on salt water. It was a quiet, un- 
eventful day, but Mrs. Justin and Gay Armatt en- 
joyed it very much. The conditions for enjoyment 
were so exactly what they ought to be, and it ap- 
peared so just, right, and perfectly natural that the 
presence of Mr. Crisman should give pleasure not only 
to Gay, but to her dear friend, that the pleasure came 
123 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


to these two ladies as the delightful consciousness of 
virtue conies to the virtuous. 

When Gay took her charming, beaming face up-stairs 
that night, she sat by the window and looked out into 
her future— her future with Charley Crisman. It was 
very bright, brighter than the sunset. It was full of 
glowing visions of a voyage, not in a little boat upon 
a bay, but in a great ship upon the rolling ocean ; of 
far-away and lovely lands ; of the weird charms of 
foreign life, and the mountains and plains whence 
trickled the head waters of literature ; and through 
these visionary scenes she moved with Charley, hand 
in hand, until at last they came to a lovely rural 
home, which, after all, would be more charming than 
the ruins of the past or the palaces of to-day. 

And then she rose, and the future faded, and in its 
stead she saw the sky, and there were some stars there 
which reminded her of the stars which had come 
twinkling out the week before, when she had walked 
home after dark from the hill where she had seen the 
sunset. And now it came into her mind that, for 
some reason or other, she did not know exactly why, 
it was more pleasant for Mr. Stratford not to be here 
on the Sundays Charley was here. This was very odd, 
and she did not try to explain it to herself. And so, 
with the Charley -smile still upon her lips, she went to 
bed. 

Mr. Crisman did not immediately retire, but, light- 
ing a cigar, he went out on the piazza to have a walk 
and a smoke, and to build some castles in the air. 
His thoughts went immediately forth to a medium - 
sized frame house, probably in the Queen Anne style . 
somewhere in the suburbs of the city. From the 
124 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


parlor and dining-room floor to a room in the attic 
which he intended to fit up with a work-bench, at 
which he could make all sorts of little things that 
would be needed about the house, he furnished this 
home. To be sure, he could not expect to be in it 
very much on week-days ; for, as he had to be at the 
store at nine o’clock in the morning, and as it would 
take him at least an hour to reach the city, he would 
have to have his breakfast at half-past seven, and there- 
fore get up at seven; and, as for coming home, he 
could not hope to reach the house before dark, except 
in the long summer days. But then, there would be 
Sundays and holidays ; and even on ordinary days, if 
they did not sit up too late, he could rise in the morn- 
ing quite early enough to have a good time working in 
the garden and getting an appetite for his breakfast. 
He knew lots of fellows living out of town who 
did that. In some way or other, they really seemed 
to have more time to do things than his friends who 
lived in the city. 

As to Gay, he pictured her as the most charming 
mistress of a house that the world ever saw. He did 
not suppose that she had any domestic abilities, for 
she could gain none of these while she was grinding 
away at school and at college ; but all that sort of thing 
would soon come to her, as it does to every woman 
who is worth anything. Of course they would have a 
servant, but there would be lots for Gay to do to keep 
her busy and contented while he was away. For one 
thing, he would have a poultry-house and -yard, and 
the care of the hens and chickens would give Gay no 
end of fun and occupation. He saw her, in his mind’s 
eye, collecting the snow-white eggs, and tenderly car- 
125 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


ing for the downy little chicks. If his circumstances 
improved,— and there was reason to believe that if he 
married he would be promoted into the foreign 
woolens department,— he would have a cow, although, 
now he came to think of it, a good cow ought to give 
at least ten quarts of milk a day, and what he and 
Gay were to do with ten quarts of milk he could not 
see, unless, indeed, they churned, and, by George ! that 
was a jolly idea ! They would make their own butter, 
and Gay should have charge of it. He was glad Gay 
was not a rich girl, because she would take so much 
more pleasure in all this sort of thing than she would 
if she had been rich. She would find that she would 
have a lot to learn that they didn’t teach in college. 
But when she once came to give her mind to it, he 
knew very well that she would get along splendidly. 

And then, throwing away the stump of his cigar, Mr. 
Crisman danced twice up and down the piazza, holding 
out his arms as if he were waltzing with Gay. And 
having finished this exercise, he went into the house, 
locked the hall door, and betook himself to bed. 

Mrs. Justin did not have a very long rest that night. 
She never could sleep when any one was walking up 
and down the piazza under her window ; and when 
Gay married Mr. Crisman— and to-day Mrs. Justin had 
no doubt that this would happen— she hoped that she 
would cure him of this practice. 

When Mr. Crisman had gone, and the week of 
ordinary life had begun again at Cherry Bridge, Gay 
let one day pass without saying anything on the sub- 
ject, and then she asked Mrs. Justin if she did not 
think it somewhat strange that Mr. Stratford had not 
called upon them since he went back to the farm-house. 

126 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“It has been scarcely three days since he was here,” 
said Mrs. Justin, “and I do not think that can be con- 
sidered a very long absence.” 

“That depends,” said Gay. “It is only a half-hour 
drive for him. Have the people at the farm returned 
yet?” 

“I have not heard that they have returned,” said 
Mrs. Justin. 

“Well, then,” said Gay, thoughtfully, “from what 
you said about the state of the farm household when 
you invited the two gentlemen here, I should think he 
must be having a very uncomfortable time of it.” 

Mrs. Justin possessed an excellent temper, but this 
remark irritated her. She felt that Gay was not called 
upon to interest herself in Mr. Stratford’s welfare. 
And, more than that, she perceived in Gay’s words 
something of a reproach to herself. Her conscience 
told her this was not altogether undeserved. Affairs 
must be going on roughly at the farm, with no one 
but a very incompetent woman to manage the house- 
hold, and it did not at all conform to her high ideas 
of hospitality to allow an old friend, such as Mr. Strat- 
ford was, to remain in discomfort, with her own large 
house so near. But Stratford’s intentions and conduct 
made it impossible for her to have him at her house 
while Gay was there. But that was no reason why 
the duties of friendship should be entirely neglected. 
She then remarked that she intended to drive over to 
the farm and find out when Mrs. People was expected 
back and how matters were going on there. 

“I will go with you,” said Gay. 

ISTow did the irritation of Mrs. Justin increase so 
much that she was unable to conceal it, and she an- 
127 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


swered in a tone more severe than she had ever before 
used toward her young friend : 

“It is not at all necessary, Gay, that you should 
visit the farm. I am going to the village this morn- 
ing, and will then drive over and see if Mr. Stratford 
needs anything that I can do for him. 77 

Gay could- not fail to perceive that Mrs. Justin did 
not approve of her putting herself forward in the cause 
of Mr. Stratford’s welfare, but she was not offended, 
though she said no more upon the subject. It might 
be that her friend was sensitive about having other 
people interfere in a case like this, which was clearly 
within her own province ; and as Gay considered the 
matter, she thought of several other things which 
might have induced Mrs. Justin to set her aside in 
this affair. But Gay’s considerations of these possible 
reasons did not in the slightest degree diminish her 
interest in Mr. Stratford. 

Mrs. Justin was not only irritated, but disappointed. 
Mr. Crisman’s last visit had produced the impression 
upon her that perhaps, after all, there was no reason 
for her fears in regard to Stratford. The lovers ap- 
peared so happy and content in each other’s company 
that even if Mr. Stratford found further opportunities 
of interfering with their engagement, he would dis- 
cover that he had no ground to work on. As soon as 
he had gone, Gay had ceased to think of him, and had 
returned to her allegiance to the man she was to 
marry. But now Crisman was scarcely out of the 
house when Gay was filled with anxiety about Mr. 
Stratford’s domestic comfort, and with disappointment 
that he did not come to see her. All this was very 
disheartening to Mrs. Justin. Mr. Stratford was out 
128 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


when she called at the farm-house, but her inquiries 
convinced her that he was probably doing very well, 
as it was evident that he had taken the general direc- 
tion of his domestic economies into his own hands. 
She gave the woman in charge some advice in regard 
to the gentleman’s comfort, but she made no report 
of her proceeding when she returned. 

Gay asked no further questions about Mr. Stratford, 
and she and her friend soon returned to their ordinary 
condition of amicable intercourse. It was Mrs. Justin’s 
custom to leave her visitors free to spend the morn- 
ings as they best pleased, and to claim that privilege 
for herself. The next morning Gay pleased not to 
read or study. She was restless and thoughtful, and 
concluded that she would take a walk. So she walked 
over the fields and hills to the little eminence where 
she had seen the sunset. She climbed up to the broad 
rail where she had sat, and she sat there again and 
looked at the sky. The sky was blue now, with white 
clouds floating over it, but it was not a very interest- 
ing sky, and Gay got down from the fence on the other 
side from that on which she had climbed up. Then 
she walked on into a country which was new to her, 
and in which she experienced some of the sensations 
of the adventurer, for she knew she was not now on 
Mrs. Justin’s land. 

She kept on until she came to the bottom of a hill, 
where there was a little brook ; and when she had 
rested herself by its banks a few minutes, watching 
the hurrying water as it pushed around and between 
and over the big stones which lay in its course, she 
stepped upon one or two of the driest of these stones, 
and was over the brook in a flash. She followed the 


129 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


opposite bank of the stream around the end of a low 
hill, and then she found herself in a pretty little val- 
ley with this mountain stream running down the 
middle of it. Not far away there was a clump of 
trees by the side of the brook, and just above these a 
man was fishing. 

Almost as soon as she saw this man Gay knew it 
was Mr. Stratford. She stopped, uncertain whether 
or not to go on. Before the conversation of yesterday 
she would not have hesitated for a moment, but would 
have hurried, as fast as she could run, to see Mr. Strat- 
ford fish ; but now a recollection of the words and, 
still more, the manner of Mrs. Justin produced a 
vague impression upon her mind that she ought, per- 
haps, to turn around and go back the way she came. 
But instantly she began to ask herself what possible 
reason there was for this impression. What was there 
in Mrs. Justin’s words or manner which should prevent 
her from speaking to Mr. Stratford when she saw him ? 
If he happened to turn his head she would be full in 
his view, and if he saw her going away what would he 
think of her? She would be treating him as if he 
were some stranger to be avoided. It would be most 
unkind and improper in her to behave to him in an 
unfriendly way, and so she would go on and speak to 
him. 

This she did, but she did not run. She walked very 
sedately over the grass, and when she came near him 
he heard the slight rustling of her dress, and turned. 

“Good morning, Mr. Stratford,” she said. “Shall I 
frighten the fish if I come there? ” 

Mr. Stratford was surprised, but very glad to see 
Gay. He put down his rod, and came forward to greet 
130 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


her. He said it did not matter in the least whether 
she frightened the fish or not, and wanted to know 
how she had happened to come this way. 

When this had been explained, Gay begged him to 
go on with his fishing, because nothing would so much 
delight her as to see how he caught a trout. There- 
upon they both approached the brook, and while Gay 
stood a little to one side, Mr. Stratford took up his 
rod and began with much dexterity to throw his fly 
among the ripples at the bottom of a tiny waterfall. 
In a few moments he caught a trout and threw it out 
upon the grass $ then Gay ran up to it, dropped down 
on her knees, and was full of admiration for its beau- 
tiful colors and spots. If it had been Mr. Crisman 
who was fishing, Gay would have implored him to 
throw the poor little thing back into the water, but 
in regard to a fish hooked by Mr. Stratford she had no 
such thought. If he caught it, it was of course quite 
right that he should do so. 

And now Mr. Stratford asked her if she would like 
to fish. Gay declared that she would be perfectly 
delighted to do so, but unfortunately she did not know 
how ; she had never fished since she was a little girl, 
and then in the most primitive way, with worms. She 
had heard and read a good deal about artificial flies, 
but she had never before seen any one use them. 
Thereupon Mr. Stratford took out his book of flies, 
and showed Gay the various kinds of feather insects, 
and told her when and why he used this variety or 
that. Then she was very anxious to begin, and Strat- 
ford put the rod into her hands, explained the use of 
the reel, and going a little farther along the brook, he 
began to give her lessons in managing the rod, throw- 
131 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


ing the fly, and in various other branches of trout- 
fishing. Gay’s business in life was to learn, and she 
was so bright and quick at seeing what ought to be 
done, and Stratford was so earnest and patient in 
teaching, that after half an hour’s practice she could 
make a fly skim above the surface of the water with 
something which resembled in a certain degree the 
skill of a practised fisher. 

In the course of time a trout actually rose to her 
fly, and she hooked it. With a wild, spasmodic jerk, 
which would have broken her tackle had the fish been 
a large one, she threw it far out on the grass, the line 
just grazing Mr. Stratford’s hat as it flew over his 
head. She was now in raptures, and she fished on with 
much zest, although her success was small. 

And so Gay did all the fishing, for Mr. Stratford 
assured her that he could fish any day, and that it 
was ever so much more pleasure to show her how to 
use the rod than to use it himself. And they walked 
and they talked, and Gay declared that she had found 
out something which was not taught in colleges, and 
that was that the way to superoxygenate the air was 
to fish. The atmosphere seemed truly full of exhila- 
ration, and not only she herself, but everything else, 
seemed to be breathing it with delight. 

“I wish Izaak Walton had written his book in 
Greek,” cried Gay, “for then I would put it among 
my Greek reading next winter, and in that way keep 
before my mind this fussy little brook with real fishing 
fish in it. And now, won’t you show me again how to 
give that little wabble to the fly as I wave it? ” 

And so Mr. Stratford took Gay’s little hand into his 
own, she still holding the rod, and the fly on the end 
132 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


of the line began to wabble itself more over the water 
and less over the grass. 

At length Stratford stopped and took out his watch. 
“I think, Miss Armatt,” he said, “that we must now 
give up fishing for to-day. You will have just time 
enough to get home to luncheon.” 

“Yon don’t mean to say,” exclaimed Gay, “that it 
is nearly one o’clock ! ” 

“It is half-past twelve,” said Stratford ; “but I can 
show you a much shorter way to Mrs. Justin’s house 
than that by which you came.” 

And now the little feather fly was put away with 
its brothers, the rod was disjointed and packed up, and 
Gay and Stratford walked along one edge of the stream 
until they came to a good place to cross, when he, with 
one foot upon a rock and the other on the bank, took 
both her hands in his, and she made a flying skip over 
the brook without any need of a stepping-stone. They 
now followed the course of the valley until they came 
to a fence, in one panel of which were movable bars, 
and these being taken down by Mr. Stratford, Gay 
passed through. Then he put them up again, but 
remained on the other side from her. 

“Now all you have to do,” he said, “is to keep 
straight on until you get to the corner of that bit of 
wood. When you have turned that, you will see the 
house before you at the bottom of a long hill.” 

“But are you not coming to take luncheon with 
us?” said Gay. “I thought, of course, you’d do 
that!” 

“Oh, no,” replied Stratford, with a smile. “I 
couldn’t lunch with ladies in these fishing-clothes and 
muddy boots.” 


133 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“The clothes are quite good enough / 7 said Gay j 
“and I am sure that Mrs. Justin will not like it at all 
if she hears you have been so near and would not 
stop to luncheon . 77 

Stratford smiled, but shook his head. 

“Then you will come to-morrow ? 77 said Gay. “You 
haven’t been to see us for ever so long ; and I have six 
pages marked, on which there are things I want to ask 
you about . 77 

Mr. Stratford stood by the fence, leaning on the 
upper rail. “Miss Armatt , 77 he said, “I shall not be 
able to visit you to morrow. In fact, as I am going to 
the city in a day or two, it will be some time before 
I can give myself the pleasure of calling at Mrs. Jus- 
tin’s house . 77 

“I don’t see what going to the city in a day or 
two has to do with it,” said Gay, “when you live so 
near.” 

Stratford laughed, but made no answer to this re- 
mark. “You must not think, Miss Armatt,” he said, 
“that I have any intention of evading those six 
marked pages. But I must not keep you here any 
longer, or Mrs. Justin will think you are lost. Good- 
by, for just now.” And he reached out his hand 
over the fence. 

Gay put her hand in his, and as she did so she said 
nothing, but looked straight into his eyes with an 
expression full of interrogation. 

“Good-by,” he said again. Then he gently dropped 
her hand, and she went her way. 

Gay’s way was now a thoughtful one, and her 
thoughts could have been formulated to express the 
idea that the best plan to expel the oxygen from the 
134 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


air was to have Mr. Stratford say the things he had 
been saying. There was something wrong, and she 
could not understand it. In fact, she soon gave up 
trying to understand it ; and her mind, for the greater 
part of the walk home, was entirely occupied with the 
contemplation of the fact that never in her life had 
she met any one who, in certain respects, could be 
compared to Mr. Stratford as a companion. It was 
not merely that he knew so much about all sorts of 
things $ it was a good deal more than that. His mind 
seemed to possess the quality of hospitality ; it seemed 
to open its doors to you, to ask you to come in and 
make yourself at home ; and you could not help going 
in and making yourself at home— at least, Gay could 
not. And she did not want to help it, either. She 
had never known any one on whom, in certain re- 
spects, it was such a pleasure to depend as Mr. Strat- 
ford. Even when he helped her over the brook, or 
showed her how to use a fishing-rod, there was 
something encouraging and inspiriting in his very 
touch. 

And yet Gay’s thoughts and sentiments in regard to 
Mr. Stratford did not interfere in the least with her 
thoughts and sentiments regarding Mr. Crisman. 
These were on a different plane and in a different 
sphere. She did not exactly say this to herself, but 
reflections of similar significance passed across her 
mind, and, being of such easy comprehension, were not 
detained for consideration. 

When Mrs. Justin heard where Gay had been, with 
whom she had met, how she had fished, how she had 
enjoyed it, what a perfectly lovely morning it had 
been, what a charming thing it was to have a man like 
135 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Mr. Stratford teach one how to fish, how Mr. Stratford 
had declined to come to lunch, and a good deal of what 
he had said on this and other subjects, that lady lis- 
tened in silence ; her face was grave, and her heart was 
pained. She felt that fate was against her in the 
effort she was making in behalf of the right. When 
she spoke she said a few words in regard to Mr. Strat- 
ford’s visit to the city, and then changed the subject. 
In the course of an hour or two a basket of trout 
was sent over from the Bullripple farm, and they 
were cooked for dinner; but Gay noticed that Mrs. 
Justin, who, as she knew, was very fond of trout, par- 
took not of this dish. 

Mrs. Justin’s peace of mind was not increased when, 
next morning, she received a letter from Arthur 
Thorne requesting her permission to address Miss 
Armatt. Mr. Thorne wrote that he was aware that 
Mrs. Justin was not related to Miss Armatt, nor was 
she that young lady’s guardian, but as Miss Armatt 
was at present a member of her family, he would 
consider it an instance of bad social faith were he to 
carry out his present intention of securing board in 
her neighborhood for the express purpose of visiting 
Mrs. Justin’s house and endeavoring to win favor in 
the eyes of Miss Armatt, without frankly apprising 
Mrs. Justin of said intention. The letter closed with 
an earnest hope that this proposed step would meet 
with Mrs. Justin’s approval. 

“Is it possible,” exclaimed the lady, as she rose to 
her feet with this letter crushed in her hand, “that 
Stratford has never told his friend of Mr. Crisman ! ” 

For an hour Mrs. Justin walked the floor, this mat- 
ter galloping through her mind, and then she sat 
136 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


down and wrote a letter to Mr. Thorne informing him 
of Gay’s engagement to Mr. Crisman. She did not 
allude to the strangeness of the fact that he had not 
heard of this, and she made her letter as kind and as 
appreciative of honorable motives as she believed such 
a truly honorable man as Arthur Thorne deserved. 


137 


CHAPTER XI 

The cyclones and the typhoons still continued to rage 
through the soul of J. Weatherby Stull as he daily 
visited Vatoldi’s and beheld the performances of Enoch 
Bullripple. Whatever deed an absolute fool might 
do, that, in the eyes of Mr. Stull, did Enoch ; and 
whatever a wise man might perform, that thing Enoch 
left undone. With John People gone he knew not 
whither, and not a soul on earth with whom he could 
share his misery and rage, Mr. Stull’s condition was 
such that every hour threatened the downfall of Mr. 
Bullripple, and the simultaneous toppling over of the 
lofty social pedestal of the Stull family. But the head 
of the family had made that pedestal his only object 
of adoration, and it was that adoration which, time 
after time, saved the pedestal from the destruction 
threatened by its builder. 

As has been said, Mr. Stull came every day to 
Vatoldi’s ; but he no longer brought his family, nor 
urged them to come. That restaurant, with its swag- 
gering waiters and its flaunting placards of u Chowder ” 
and “ Golden Buck,” was no place for them. In its 
present condition he did not wish to see the place 
patronized. He went there himself because he must 
know what was going on, but he would have been 
138 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


very glad if no one else had gone. Attracted by 
Enoch’s showy inducements, and by the notoriety 
which the boycotters had given to the place, a great 
many persons took their meals at Vatoldi’s. But they 
were not the former patrons of the establishment. 
They belonged to a much lower social sphere ; and, 
had circumstances permitted, it would have delighted 
the soul of Mr. Stull to take each one of them by the 
neck and put him out into the street, and then to close 
the shutters of Vatoldi’s and lock and bar its doors, 
keeping them closed and barred until affairs could be 
so ordered that he could reopen his old establishment 
upon its old basis of order, propriety, and systematic 
excellence. 

One afternoon Mr. Horace Stratford arrived in 
town, and being very desirous to obtain news of his 
landlord and landlady, from whom he had received 
but two very unsatisfactory notes, he repaired directly 
to Vatoldi’s. When he reached the place he was sur- 
prised to see a crowd before the door, who regarded 
with much lively interest a man who was taking a 
meal at a small table placed on the sidewalk directly 
in front of one of the large windows. Over this man’s 
head hung a placard, on which was inscribed : 

YESTERDAY THE BOYCOTTERS GAVE ME 
TWO DOLLARS 

TO PLAY SHAM, AND TO-DAY I AM PAID 
THREE DOLLARS 

TO EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY. 

Mr. Stratford did not stop to ask questions ; but, 
seeing Mrs. People inside the door, he immediately 
139 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


walked in and accosted her. The good woman’s face 
was beaming with the pleasure which frequently fol- 
lows a benevolent action. A big policeman— all sorts 
of people now came to Vatoldi’s— had just been par- 
taking of a repast at a table near the door, and Mrs. 
People, who had been temporarily left in charge of the 
cashier’s desk, and who liked to encourage the patron- 
age of policemen in these troublous times, had cut a 
large slice of one of her own cherry-pies, and had 
taken it to him with her own hands as a gratuitous 
addition to his meal. 

“ That’s from me,” she said, in her brusque, cheerful 
way. “It’s all right. Don’t mention it.” And then 
she bustled back to the desk. 

When the policeman came up to pay the amount of 
his check, Mrs. People, who was not an adept at addi- 
tion and subtraction, gave him his change with a 
deficiency in the amount which was larger than the 
price of the piece of pie. The good policeman per- 
ceived the error, but hesitated a little before men- 
tioning it to a person who had just been so generous 
to him. He stood for a moment, undecided whether 
to speak or not, when Mrs. People exclaimed : 

“Now, don’t say anything about that pie. That’s 
all right. Did you think it was good? It ought to 
be, for I made it myself.” And then, with a jolly 
little nod, she turned aside to speak to a waiter, and 
the policeman, in a state of uncertain gratefulness, 
departed. 

The glow of kindliness upon Mrs. People’s coun- 
tenance brightened into the radiance of joy when she 
beheld Mr. Stratford. With outstretched hand she 
hurried to meet him, and poured forth an instantane- 
140 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


ous torrent of questions regarding his welfare at the 
farm, broken by great bowlders of regret at the un- 
fortunate state of affairs which obliged her to leave 
him there alone. 

It was an hour when there were few persons in the 
long room ; but had the place been crowded, it would 
have been all the same to Mrs. People. 

After a time Mr. Stratford began to ask questions. 
“This place seems very much changed,” he said, look- 
ing about him. “Has boycotting done all this? ” 
“The dear knows what it has done, an’ what it 
hasn’t done,” said Mrs. People. “Enoch attends to 
the up-stairs business, an’ I have my hands full tryin’ 
to keep things straight in the kitchen. He is out now, 
an’ so I had to come up here ; but he’ll be back 
directly, an’ mighty glad he’ll be to see you.” 

“What is the meaning,” asked Stratford, “of that 
man eating at a table outside, with the people stand- 
ing along the curbstone looking at him ? ” 

“Oh, that’s one of Enoch’s contrivances,” said Mrs. 
People, with a laugh. “Yesterday the boycotters 
hired that man to come in here an’ git somethin’ to 
eat j an’, dear knows, they didn’t give him money to 
git much ; an’ when he had finished, he went out on 
the pavement right in front of the door, an’ bent 
himself nearly double, an’ began to howl as if he was 
suff’rin’, an’ to holler out that he’d been p’izened by 
"^hat had been given him to eat in here. As true as I 
live, sir, ’twasn’t more’n half a minute before there 
was a crowd outside, a-blockin’ up the pavement,— 
where they came from so quick I don’t know,— an’ 
that man in the middle of them a-howlin’ an’ groanin’, 
an’ shakin’ his fist at the people in here for p’izenin’ 
141 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


of him. It wouldn’t ’a’ been two minutes before 
there’d been a row, an’ windows broke, for all I know ; 
but the very second that Enoch sat eyes on the man 
an’ saw what was up, he made one dash out the front 
door, an’ grabbed the feller by the collar, an’ pulled 
him inside in no time. Then two of the waiters they 
took the man one by each arm an’ Enoch pushin’ 
behind, an’ they whisked him out lively into the little 
back yard, an’ then they got him down right flat on 
the bricks, an’ Enoch he called for a big bottle of 
olive-oil to give to him quick to stop the p’izen. Then 
the feller he got frightened, not knowin’ what he’d be 
made to take, an’ he sung out that he wasn’t p’izened 
at all, an’ that ’twas all sham. Then Enoch he sent 
the waiters away an’ let the man up, an’ then an’ 
there he made a bargain with him : as he had been 
hired yesterday to make believe he was sick, Enoch 
hired him to come to-day an’ set out in front of the 
shop an’ eat, an’ let people see that the victuals we 
furnish here agree with him. Enoch has give orders 
that they’re to take victuals out to him a little at a 
time, so’s he can be kep’ eatin’ all day. This mornin’ 
some boycotters’ boys threw mud at him, but the 
perlice ketched ’em, an’ there was an end to that. 
An’ here comes Enoch now.” 

Mr. Bullripple was quite as glad to see his boarder 
as Mrs. People had been, and the two sat down at a 
table and had a long talk on the state of affairs. Mr. 
Stratford was greatly interested in Enoch’s account of 
what he had done, for the old man told him everything, 
even to his method of getting rid of John People in 
order to have a clear field to work in. 

“You see, sir,” said Enoch, “what I’m about is a 
142 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


good sight deeper than what folks is likely to think 
that jes looks at it from the outside. There’s a rat in 
a hole in this Vatoldi business, and all these things 
that surprise yon about the place is the stick that I’m 
tryin’ to punch him out with ; and I think that feller 
eatin’ outside has just made the stick about long 
enough to reach the mean, sneakin’ varmint at the 
bottom of his hole. I’m almost dead sure I tetched 
him, for if he didn’t stick out his head this mornin’, 
I’m wuss mistaken than I ever was before in my life. 
I’m pretty sure that it won’t be long now before I’ll 
have him. And then, if I choose, Mr. Stratford,— I 
don’t say that I’m goin’ to do it, but I can do it if I 
like,— I’m of the opinion I can show you your hun- 
dredth man. For if there’s one man that sticks out 
sharp from any hundred people you know, it’s this 
one I’m after.” 

“I have a very strong notion, Enoch,” said Mr. 
Stratford, “if you catch the person you call your rat, 
and bring him to me yourself, that I shall see my 
hundredth man.” 


143 


CHAPTER XII 


On the day of Mr. Stratford’s arrival in the city, and 
very soon after he had parted from Enoch Bullripple, 
the latter received a letter from his nephew, John 
People. It was a long letter, and full of indignation 
and reproach. In the strongest terms which John’s 
sense of duty would allow him to use toward a re- 
spected relative, he protested against the injustice 
and injury which had been done him by the unwar ^ 
rantable trick played upon him by his uncle. Mr, 
Bullripple’s letter had assured him that it was all 
intended for his good, but this declaration made no 
impression on John. He had been ruthlessly forced 
to break his faith with his employer, and to desert and 
neglect the interests which had been intrusted to him. 
Nothing on earth could have tempted him voluntarily 
to do what he had been tricked into doing. Instead 
of this enforced absence being a benefit to him, he felt 
sure it would work him an injury. He had written to 
his employer explaining the whole affair, but he had 
no reason to believe that his explanations would clear 
him from condemnation by that person ; and disaster, 
both to his fortune and to the business, must certainly 
result from his uncle’s deplorable action. 

John further stated that, instead of writing, he 
144 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


would have hastened home himself, but that he had 
no money by which to come by rail, and that the 
steamer on which he had a return ticket would not 
start North for several days. He had written for 
money to be telegraphed to him, and would be in the 
city at the earliest possible moment. 

When Mr. Bullripple had read this letter his coun- 
tenance was not that of a man whose conscience had 
been touched by the reproaches of one he had wronged. 
On the contrary, he allowed himself a smile of much 
content as he folded the letter and slipped it into an 
inner pocket of his coat. 

“Written to the boss, has he ! ” he said to himself. 
“That’s all right. And now we’ll wait and see what 
happens next. If the boss can stand that punch 
without cornin’ out of his hole and showin’ himself, 
he’s got more grit than anybody I’ve met yit on this 
planet.” 

The fact that John had not been able immediately to 
set out on his return to the city was a comfort and 
relief to the soul of Mr. Bullripple, for he had found 
that the task of ferreting out the concealed proprietor 
of Yatoldi’s was more difficult than he had expected 
it to be, and for the past day or two he had feared 
that his nephew might make his appearance and pre- 
vent the successful working out of his plans. But 
now there was some time yet in which, with his per- 
ceptive faculties keener than ever, he could keep a 
bright lookout for the other man to whom John had 
written. 

When Mr. Stull received his letter it was a happy 
thing for him that he was alone, for he fairly roared 
with fury. He had thought that his detestation of 
145 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Enoch Bullripple could not be greater than it had 
become during the time that the old man had had 
sole charge of Vatoldi’s ; but now Mr. Stull found that 
he had been mistaken. Nothing that Bullripple had 
done could compare with this act of demoniacal vil- 
lany. If ever a man had been revenged on another, 
he would be revenged on this old farmer. It was not 
necessary for him to show himself, nor to do anything 
at the present moment. It would not be long before 
John People would return, and then he could act, as 
before, unseen and unknown. The first thing he 
would do would be to order his manager immediately 
to send his uncle and his mother to their home in the 
country ; and then Mr. Stull determined to devote all 
the energy of his intellect to schemes by which that 
reprobate of a Bullripple should be made to suffer for 
his sins, without knowing who caused him his pangs 
and his agony. There were weak places in Mr. Bull- 
ripple’s affairs which Stull knew, and it was at these 
spots he intended to strike until he had reached the 
very heart of his victim. 

During the rest of that day, and a great part of the 
night, the mind of Mr. Stull was almost entirely given 
over to schemes for the ruin of the man who in such 
scoundrelly fashion had thrust himself into his path. 

The next day he lunched at Vatoldi’s, as was his 
custom. No matter what happened, he said to him- 
self, he would make no change in his ordinary habits, 
and give no one reason to suppose that what was 
occurring there was of the slightest concern to him. 

But the difficulty of restraining himself to his pre- 
scribed line of action was now greater than he ever 
imagined it could be. To look at Enoch Bullripple 
146 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


without hurling knives, forks, and imprecations at 
him induced a strain which few minds except that of 
J. Weatherby Stull could have withstood. He ate 
with assumed appetite the meal which he had ordered, 
and no knives, forks, or imprecations flew through the 
air. But his soul writhed, groaned, and gritted its 
teeth within him, and he longed for the coming of 
John People, and the beginning of his vengeance. 
Not only the uncle, but the nephew, should suffer. 
He had to be very careful in his treatment of the only 
person who held his secret, but he would not allow 
himself to forget that John had been weak and foolish 
enough to be led away by a most flimsy trick from his 
post of duty at a time when it was so necessary that 
he should be there. Mr. Stull had not yet determined 
how John should be punished, but that this punish- 
ment should take place he most solemnly promised 
himself. 

Mr. Stull was a man who, if he had anything to do, 
liked to go to work and do it as soon as possible ; and 
the very next morning he set on foot some particular 
inquiries in regard to the tenure by which Enoch held 
his farm. He thought that said tenure probably 
resembled that by which he held his own farm j and, 
if this should prove to be the case, he had conceived 
a plan by which the meddling old man could be 
brought to a just punishment, and that, too, without 
knowing who had brought it upon him. 

He ate his luncheon at Yatoldi’s that day with a 
good appetite, for the prospect of making himself 
even with old Enoch, and the knowledge that John 
would very soon return, had restored his mental and 
physical systems to something of their ordinary condi - 
147 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


tion. His indignation against Enoch received, how- 
ever, fresh fuel to-day. Hew placards had been hung 
upon the wall, one announcing that certain puddings 
would be furnished with “Boycotter Sauce ” ; and the 
general vulgarity and low tone of the place seemed to 
be on the increase. Before the receipt of John People’s 
letter, Mr. Stull had believed old Bullripple to be a 
stupid blunderer, who, knowing nothing of the busi- 
ness he had undertaken, had done everything in the 
way it should not be done ; but now he believed him 
to be a designing rascal, who, hating anything better 
than that to which he was accustomed, was taking a 
vicious delight in pulling Yatoldi’s down to his own 
level, for nothing but the depraved love of power, and 
the desire to make the restaurant what his grovelling 
soul thought it ought to be, could have induced the 
old man to take so much trouble to get his nephew 
out of the way. 

Shortly before three o’clock that afternoon, Mr. 
Stull was astounded, almost paralyzed, in fact, by be- 
holding the entrance, unheralded by announcement 
or knock, of Enoch Bullripple into his private room 
at the bank. His astonishment was instantly suc- 
ceeded by an influx of savage fury at this intrusion, 
and, rising to his feet, he was about to launch his in- 
dignation against the old man, but Enoch spoke first. 
Holding out a large wallet stuffed with bank-notes, the 
exuberance of which was restrained by a piece of 
twine, he said : 

“I want to know, Mr. Stull, what I’m to do with 
this money. There hain’t been none deposited in the 
bank since John went away, and there’s a good deal 
more of it now than ought to be kep’ in that little safe 
148 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


under the desk. Now, I don’t know whether I’m to 
deposit it in John’s name or in your name. You 
know I haven’t got no account at this bank.” 

Mr. Stull sat down ; his face was gray, his eyes were 
wide open. Mr. Bullripple took a chair on the oppo- 
site side of the table, on which he laid the wallet. 

“Sick?” said he, looking over at the other. 

Stull’s face now began to work. “What do you— 
what do you mean,” he stammered, “by bringing that 
to me ? ” And he made a faint motion as if he would 
push the wallet from the table. 

Enoch leaned back in his chair, half closed his eyes, 
and grinned. “It appears to me,” he said, “that the 
man that owns a lot of money is the best person to ask 
what’s got to be done with it. Game’s up, Jonathan 
Stull,” he added. “ ’Tain’t no more use keepin’ in 
your hole ; you might jes as well walk right out and 
show yourself.” 

Dumb, gray, and open-eyed, Mr. Stull still stared at 
the old man. One thought only filled his mind : that 
arch-fiend on the other side of the table possessed his 
secret. When John People was his only confidant Mr. 
Stull had felt safe and satisfied. The incalculable im- 
portance of secrecy had been made known to John. 
The young man was honest and faithful, and he would 
as soon have thought of stealing his employer’s money 
as of betraying his sacred confidence. 

But now the secret was known to a black-hearted 
wretch. Mr. Stull said nothing, because no words 
would come to him. But it was unnecessary to say any- 
thing. No questioning was needed to make him see 
plainer than he saw now that Enoch Bullripple knew 
that he was the owner of Yatoldi’s. 


149 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


The old man had no intention of forcing his victim 
to express himself, nor of prolonging the interview 
merely to enjoy his triumph, and he proceeded at once 
to business. “Now, Jonathan Stull / 7 he said, leaning 
forward on the table, “you and me has got somethin 7 
to talk about, and the sooner we git at it the better. 
You’re a good deal took back, I can see, and don’t 
appear to be ready to be very glib with your words. 
But that ain’t needed. All you’ve got to do jes now 
is to listen ; and when I’m through, and you’ve come 
a little to your senses, you can tell me what you’ve 
made up your mind to do.” 

It may be here remarked that not for one moment 
did Mr. Stull suspect that John had betrayed him to 
Bullripple. The tone of the young man’s letter to 
him, and the fact that his uncle found it necessary 
to get rid of him, made it plain to Mr. Stull that 
John’s integrity had not been shaken. He knew, as 
well as if he had been told, that in some way he had 
betrayed himself to that sharp-eyed old wolf who was 
now glaring at him. A tidal wave of rage came roll- 
ing back upon him. It was necessary to restrain 
himself, but he could look upon Enoch only as a venom- 
ous creature from whom it was difficult to withhold 
a blow. 

“Be quick,” he said savagely. “What do you want ! 
Is it that! ” And he pointed to the wallet. 

Enoch struck the table with his fist. He, too, was 
roused, but he felt under no restraint. “Git out with 
you ! ” he said. “What do you suppose I want with 
your pancake and molasses money! But I’ll let you 
know what I do want— and in short order, too. It’s 
not been very long sence I’ve found out that the person 
150 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

who was wo r kin’ my nephew John by day and by 
night, and givin’ him mighty little for it and no show 
for himself, was a mean sneak, who, for some reason or 
other, was afraid to show his face, even when his own 
business was goin’ to rack and ruin $ and ever sence 
this was made clear and plain to me, I’ve jes given 
myself up to the business of rootin’ out that feller, and 
have left my farm to be took charge of by a hired man ; 
and how much I’ve lost I don’t know, nor I don’t keer, 
for I’ve got him out. He’s settin’ right here in front 
of me. By George ! ” the old man exclaimed, while 
an enormous grin elevated his wrinkled cheeks, “you 
must ’a’ been tored up wuss than a sassafras-field 
that’s bein’ grubbed and ploughed when you seed me 
turnin’ your eatin’ -house upside down, and a-doin’ 
everythin’ I knowed was ag’in’ the creed and catechism 
of whoever it was who owned the place. It took a 
good deal longer to fetch that rat out than I thought 
it would, for he had more grit than I give him credit 
for. But I did it. By George ! I did it. When I 
got John’s letter, and he said he’d wrote to the owner, 
I says to myself, * That feller’s bound to show up now, 
if ever he does.’ And, sure enough, he did. I’d had 
my eye on you for a good while, though there was 
times when I thought you couldn’t be fool enough to 
let me rip and stave jes as I pleased, without ever 
liftin’ your finger or sayin’ a word. But from what I’d 
had to do with you afore, I knowed you was the man 
to do anythin’ mean and sneakin’, if it was called for j 
and your cornin’ there so constant made me suspicion 
you. It wasn’t like you to be eatin’ every day in a 
place like that if there wasn’t a better reason for it 
than what you said about your alius bein’ in the habit 
151 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

of cornin’. And yesterday, when you got John’s letter, 
yon came in a-glarin’ like a two-eyed locomotive, and 
I could ’a’ swore before an alderman you was the man. 
But I wasn’t quite ready to come out on you, for I 
hadn’t got my accounts all squared up. But I was 
glad I waited, for the way you looked at me this day 
while you was eatin’ made the thing as sure as if you’d 
gone before an alderman and swore it. And here I 
am j and there’s the money on hand, up to two o’clock 
to-day ; and inside the wallet is a statement of all I’ve 
took in and all I’ve spent. And now I’ll come to the 
p’int. If you’ve got any reason for keepin’ yourself hid 
and out of sight, that’s your affair, and not mine. But 
if you want me to keep mum about it, you’ve got to 
come to my terms, and them’s these : John must be 
took into the business, and have a decent share of the 
profits ; and he’s not to be kep’ slavin’ at it, neither, 
but he’s to have help enough so’s he can git off now 
and then, like other people. I’ve ihade up my mind 
that he’s to have a clean two weeks to begin with, to 
come down into the country to see his mother and me. 
That trip down South ain’t to be counted in at all. 
He didn’t git no pleasure out of it, and it jes went in 
in the way of business. What in the name of common 
sense made him stick to you as he has stuck is more 
than I can tell. It’s out and out beyond me. But 
he’s got to be paid for it now. As soon as he comes 
home I’m goin’ to set the whole thing fair and square 
before him, and I’ll see to it that you and him makes 
out the right kind of a contract. Now, then, Jonathan 
Stull, you see what’s before you. And if you back 
out, and say you are not the owner of Yatoldi’s— well, 
then, by George ! John and me will keep the place 
152 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


and run it ourselves until the real owner turns up. 
There’s the money ; and what have you got to say f ” 

Into the gloomy ferocity of Mr. Stull’s soul there 
entered a gleam of satisfaction. The scheme of the 
old man was not one of simple malicious vengeance. 
He wanted something. He desired to make a bargain. 
This showed a way out of the difficulty. The bargain 
could be entered into, and everything go on as before ; 
and Mr. Stull had confidence enough in his own ability 
to feel sure that he could carry out the plan of ven- 
geance he had devised. He did not strongly object to 
giving John a moderate share in the business. On 
some accounts it might be a very wise thing to do. 
But, whatever arrangement might be made, and what- 
ever good might come of it, he would never forgive 
the wretched old scoundrel who had ferreted out his 
secret and forced himself into his affairs. 

He stood up suddenly, almost overturning his chair 
as he did so. Seizing the bulging wallet with one 
hand, he waved the other toward the door. “Now 
you can go ! ” he snarled to Enoch. 

Mr. Bullripple did not immediately move. “I’ll go 
when I’m ready,” he said. “And, as I’ve nothin’ 
more to say, I’ll go now. And you see to it, Jonathan 
Stull, when I come to you about that contract, that 
you’re ready to make it.” 

Thereupon he slowly rose and went out. He knew 
his man would be ready. 

The next evening Mr. Bullripple called upon Mr. 
Stratford at his city apartments to inform that gentle- 
man that he and Mrs. People would return next morn- 
ing to the farm-house, where they would be glad to 
welcome their friend and lodger as soon as he chose to 
153 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


return, and to make him as comfortable as he had been 
accustomed to be in their house. 

“ We’ve been away a good deal longer than we ex- 
pected/’ said Enoch, “and I hope you didn’t feel 
yourself druv to come to town.” 

“Not at all,” said Mr. Stratford. “I should have 
come to the city in any case. But how have you suc- 
ceeded in the complicated scheme of which you told 
me the other day? And are you ready to show me 
my hundredth man ? ” 

“Oh, I’ve got him ! I’ve got him ! ” cried Enoch, his 
eyes sparkling. “But the mischief of it is, I can’t show 
him to you. It would jes tickle me to death if I could 
p’int him out, but things is fixed so it can’t be done.” 

“I suppose, from what you told me the other day,” 
said Stratford, “that you have discovered the owner 
of Yatoldi’s.” 

“That’s the feller ! ” cried Enoch. “And, by 
George ! he squealed when I made him come out of 
his hole. But out he came, and I fixed it all right 
with him. And I tell you, Mr. Stratford, if I could 
take you where that man is, and p’int him out, and 
let you know what he’s done and what he didn’t do, 
you’d say, ‘ Enoch Bullripple, that’s my hundredth 
man, and I needn’t look no further.’ ” 

Mr. Stratford laughed. “And yet you can’t show 
him ? ” said he. 

“No, sir,” said Enoch. “I’ve agreed to let him go 
back in his hole, and have promised not to rout him 
out no more so long as he sticks to what he says he’ll 
do. But I’ve made a pretty good thing of it for John. 
He’s to have a share in the business, and has got to be 
treated more like a man and less like a plough-horse.” 

“Did John agree to your stepping in in this way,” 
154 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


inquired Stratford, “and arranging his affairs for him 
in this extraordinary fashion?” 

“He couldn’t do nothin’ else but agree to it,” said 
Enoch. “I got my thumb on both of ’em, and if either 
of ’em had skipped from under, all I had to do was to 
wash my hands of the whole business, and to tell you 
and everybody else what I’d found out; and that 
would ’a’ knocked the eatin’ -house proprietor higher ’n 
a kite. And John knowed it. He was as mad as hops 
when he got back last night, but that didn’t hurt no- 
body ; and this afternoon he and the other feller jes 
walked up to the scratch, and the contract between 
’em was signed and sealed. And that’s why me and 
Mrs. People is goin’ home, havin’ no more to do here, 
and lots to do there. And I hope it won’t be long 
before you’ll be cornin’ too.” 

“You’ll see me in a day or two,” said Stratford ; 
“and it strikes me that you needn’t trouble yourself 
about not being able to show me the hundredth man. 
I am not sure about it, but I suspect I can put my 
finger upon him before very long.” 

“Now, look here, Mr. Stratford,” said Enoch, a little 
anxiously ; “if you do find him, I hope it won’t be on 
account of anything I’ve said. I’ve promised to keep 
him shady, and I’m not a man to go back on my 
word.” 

“Be perfectly easy on that point,” said Mr. Strat- 
ford. “I’m not thinking of the owner of Vatoldi’s, 
and I have no desire to seek him out.” 

“You wouldn’t be likely to find him, if you tried,” 
said Enoch, rising to depart ; “and I can’t help you. 
And as it’s my opinion there ain’t no other one like 
him, I advise you to give up the search for your hun- 
dredth man.” 


155 


CHAPTER XIII 

Shortly after Mr. Stratford’s arrival in the city he 
was called upon by his friend Arthur Thorne, who 
had a grievance. 

“Do you know,” said Thorne, “that you got me into 
a pretty scrape up there at Cherry Bridge ? ” 

“How so?” asked Stratford. 

“By not telling me that Miss Armatt was engaged. 
When you told me that you were not her lover, I 
made up my mind that as I am her lover, I would win 
her if I could. I never supposed that any one else 
was in the way. I wrote to Mrs. Justin asking per- 
mission to go there and push my suit, and I’ve had a 
letter from her telling me that for more than a year 
the young lady has been engaged to be married. X ow, 
what a position is this for me to place myself in ? Why 
didn’t you tell me that she was engaged? ” 

“Because I do not approve of the engagement,” said 
Stratford, “and think it well to say as little of it as 
possible.” 

Mr. Thorne gazed at his friend in amazement. 
“What in the name of common sense,” he asked, 
“have you to do with it? And what matters it 
whether you approve of it or not? She is not related 
to you?” 


156 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Not in any way/’ said Stratford. “But I wish, to 
be a good friend to her, and, at least, intend to try to 
be. And now let me tell you how things stand.” 
Thereupon Stratford proceeded to speak of Gay Ar- 
matt. He told his friend what sort of girl she was, 
what her career had been, what her aspirations were, 
and what her future ought to be. He told how she 
had been engaged, while yet a student, and a very 
girl in all social matters, to a man whose marriage 
with her would degrade her, put an end to her mental 
development, and make only a hard-worked house- 
keeper of one who now had everything to hope for 
that was open to a woman. He proceeded to say that 
he believed that the girl should be saved from such a 
fate, and that, as there was no one else to do it, he 
intended to save her himself, if possible. And then 
he detailed his plans regarding Miss Armatt. 

“By which you mean,” cried Arthur, when he had 
finished, “that you intend to break off this engage- 
ment, and then marry her yourself.” 

Stratford shook his head. “I shall do nothing of 
the kind. IF the engagement comes to an end, as I 
hope it may, I shall greatly desire that Miss Armatt 
shall marry some man worthy of her ; but all that I 
shall do will be to endeavor to carry her over the gap 
between the present engagement and one which shall 
be suitable.” 

“Monstrous!” cried Arthur. “You might as well 
try to break up a marriage because you think the man 
and his wife are not suited to each other ; and I am 
surprised to hear you speak as you have done about a 
wife’s position as mistress of her house. There is no 
nobler place for a woman. I have no doubt Miss 
157 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Armatt looks forward with most joyous anticipations 
to those household duties and pleasures which you have 
decided that she ought not to have.” 

“You do not grasp the situation,” said Stratford. 
“I know exactly what Miss Armatt looks forward to. 
She expects to be mistress of a household, and to be 
happy in that position. Her hopes in this direction 
are vague and ill defined, while her views in regard to 
her future intellectual life are as clear and definite as 
those of any brain-worker who ever lived. But she 
does not know, as I do, that her marriage with Crisman 
will totally wreck this intellectual life, and make her 
a disappointed and unhappy woman.” 

Thorne arose suddenly, and began to walk up and 
down the room. “It angers me,” he said, “to hear 
you talk in this way. How on earth do you know 
what her life will be? Is she not a rational being, 
able to plan out such things for herself? ” 

“She is not as able to do it as I am,” said Stratford j 
“for she does not know Crisman as I know him.” 

For answer Mr. Thorne snapped his fingers and then 
laughed derisively. “I speak mildly,” he said, “when 
I call this a most unusual way of getting a wife. It is 
courtship after the eagle and fish-hawk fashion.” 

“I tell you,” said Stratford, turning sharply upon 
him, “that I have no intention of making love to, or 
of marrying, Miss Armatt.” 

“Ho you mean to say,” asked Thorne, stopping in 
his restless walk, “that if you succeed in convincing 
this girl that there are much better men in the world 
than the man she is engaged to, and a much better 
kind of love than the love which exists between him 
and her, and that there is for her a happiness which 
158 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


is far greater than anything she could expect if she 
married Crisman, and in this way break off the match 
—do you mean to say, I ask, that you would then be 
willing for another man to step in— myself, for in- 
stance— and try to win her ? ” 

“ Entirely willing,” said Stratford. “Nothing would 
please me better than to see her married to you.” 

Thorne burst out into a loud, contemptuous laugh, 
and taking up his hat, he walked away without a 
word. Never since he had been a man had he been 
guilty of such a breach of good manners. 

Stratford was left with his temper somewhat aroused, 
but it soon cooled down. He was discovering that he 
could not expect sympathy in the task he had under- 
taken. 

Arthur Thorne did not so soon cool down. It was 
not very easy to warm him up ; but when he became 
heated, the reduction of his mental temperature was 
generally a slow process. He was angry with Strat- 
ford. He had persuaded himself, since the receipt of 
the letter from Mrs. Justin, that, as an honorable man, 
he had given up, absolutely and utterly, all amatory 
ideas in regard to Miss Armatt. She belonged to an- 
other person, and he had no right even to think of 
her in that sort of way. It was very hard for him to 
do this, for the girl had made an impression on him 
such as he had never received before. He believed 
that it was his duty to marry, and he wanted to marry j 
and when he was living in the house with Miss Armatt, 
and his friend Stratford had told him that he had no 
matrimonial intentions toward her, it had come to 
him much more forcibly than things usually came to 
him that here was the woman out of all the world 
159 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


whom he would like to make his wife. But he be- 
lieved he had been torn from every thought of this 
kind, and had gone to Stratford merely with the in- 
tention of mildly upbraiding him for having allowed 
him to put himself in a false position. 

But now, as has been said, he was very angry with 
his friend, and the more he thought of it, the more he 
thought he perceived a very strong element of jealousy 
in this anger. But why should he have feelings of 
jealousy in regard to Miss Armatt? He had no right 
to such feelings, and could have none. It was a vile 
and wretched state of affairs, and Stratford had led 
him into it. Therefore was he angry. 

It was on a Tuesday morning, and several days 
after Mr. Stratford had concluded the business which 
brought him to town, that Miss Gay Armatt sat on 
the porch of the Cherry Bridge house writing a letter. 
The paper lay upon a portfolio on her lap, and on the 
floor by her side stood her little travelling-inkstand 
with its two tops open at angles which invited upset 
on the slightest provocation. She was writing very 
slowly, stopping often to think what she should say. 
She wished to be very careful to make this letter ex- 
actly what it ought to be, for it was to go to Mr. Strat- 
ford, and it was the first one she had ever written to 
him. Her work, although slow, did not seem to be 
irksome to her ; on the contrary, she appeared very 
much interested in it. Whenever she held her pen 
motionless, raised a little above the paper, and gazed 
up into the trees or the vines about her, there came 
into her eyes a brightness, and on her cheeks a faint 
deepening of their warmer tones, which made those 
eyes and cheeks more charming than in ordinary 
160 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


times, while her lips moved as though she might 
smile or speak or even hum a tune before she began 
to write again. On the tulip-poplar near by there 
sat a little bird which looked very like the bird to 
which, not long ago, she had told the secret of her 
birthday. If it had been truly the same bird, it would 
have been easy to imagine that his little breast was 
filled with wonder that that young creature sitting 
down there in the shade and in the fragrance of the 
honeysuckle vines, writing a letter on her knee, could 
be really twenty-one years old, and a very woman. 

If the little bird could have looked into her brain, 
he would have seen that it was stored with the result 
of years of study and conscientious intellectual work ; 
and if he could have looked into her heart, he would 
have seen that it was filled with impulses and emo- 
tions which were truly womanly. But could he have 
known her cheerful, half-blown notions about men, 
women, and the world, and could he have understood 
that joyousness of disposition which sprang from 
lovers 7 words, or woodbine scents, or clusters of wild 
strawberries, he might have said to himself that many 
a wiser bird than he would think that this young 
creature writing a letter in the shade of the vines 
was mistaken in supposing that she was no longer a 
girl. 

Gay had heard only the evening before that Mr. 
Stratford had returned to the Cherry Bridge neigh- 
borhood, and as she had something to say to him, she 
thought it her duty to write without loss of time ; and 
that it was a duty she did not in the least shrink from 
might easily have been perceived by any human being 
or bird capable of making deductions of this kind. 
Mr. Crisman had been with her on the previous Sun- 
161 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


day ; and she had noticed, or had thought she noticed, 
that he was a little, a very little, wearied by what he 
called the monotony of the country. H ow, she was very 
desirous that he should not become wearied by Cherry 
Bridge. This was a region which could never be 
monotonous to her, but she could easily see that it 
might be so to Charley. He spent no whole day there 
except Sunday, and there was so little a person of his 
tastes could do in this part of the country on Sunday. 
He was fond of fishing, but he arrived too late on 
Saturday afternoons for any diversion of that sort 5 
besides, he had told her that he did not like to go 
wandering about by himself with a fishing-rod. If 
there were pleasant fellows along, that was another 
thing, but solitary fishing was too lonesome a business 
for him. He might sometimes stay over Monday for 
a day’s fishing, but as there was no one to go with him, 
there was no use talking about it. Gay offered to go 
with him herself ; but he laughed at her in a very good- 
humored and superior way, and told her that if he 
ever found a stream where the fish were too plentiful 
and needed to be frightened and made gamesome, he 
would take her. She assured him that Mr. Stratford 
told her that she could, in time, learn to fish very 
well ; but at this Crisman laughed again, and said 
that Stratford probably did not know women as well 
as he did. When it came to a real day’s fishing, he 
thought that Mistress Gay would be much better 
pleased in a hammock on the lawn, with a novel and 
a box of caramels. 

Gay did not dispute this point, for she knew that 
Charley was not fond of having his propositions contro- 
verted, and she herself took no pleasure in arguments 
162 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


but she said she did not doubt that Mr. Stratford 
would go fishing with him, and he could have no better 
companion, for that gentleman knew the country so 
well he could take him where the best fishing was to 
be found. This proposal suited Mr. Crisman very 
well. If Stratford would go with him, he would make 
his arrangements to stay up some Monday, and have a 
long day’s tramp among the trout-streams. Gay said 
she would ask Mr. Stratford about it as soon as he came 
back ; and when she heard of his return, she did not 
wait until he should call on them, but set herself to 
work to write him a letter. 

The letter, when finished, was a very good one, and 
explained the situation in a satisfactory manner. Gay 
gave it to Mrs. Justin to read, who was surprised when 
told it had been written, but who, on reading it, could 
find nothing in it to which reasonable objection could 
be made. On general principles she objected to Gay’s 
writing to Mr. Stratford on any subject, or in any 
manner whatever. But as this was really Mr. Cris- 
man’s affair, and as he had desired that Gay should 
write the letter, Mrs. Justin of course had no right to 
interfere. She read the neatly written pages a second 
time, but she could discover nothing in them which 
would lead the recipient to suppose that the writer 
thought of aught else but that her lover should have 
a pleasant day’s fishing with an agreeable companion 
and competent guide. 

Gay was anxious that her epistle should be de- 
spatched as soon as possible, because, if Mr. Stratford 
would go fishing on the following Monday, she wanted 
to write immediately and let Mr. Crisman know. Mrs. 
Justin said she was going to send a man to the village, 
163 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


and that he could ride on and take the letter to Mr. 
Stratford. Gay went hack to the porch to put it into 
an envelope and address it, and when she was pressing 
it down on her portfolio while sealing it, a thought 
came into her head. Taking up her pen, she wrote on 
the back of the envelope : “Are you ever coming to 
see us again ? ” When the man came she gave him 
the note, and he rode away. 

At luncheon-time the returning messenger brought 
back an answer. Mr. Stratford wrote that he would 
be much pleased to accompany Mr. Crisman on a fish- 
ing excursion on the day proposed, and he felt under 
obligations to Miss Armatt for giving him this oppor- 
tunity of serving her friend. It was a very pleasant 
note, and a very polite one ; but when Gay had read 
it through there was a shade of disappointment on 
her face. 

“He doesn’t say a word,” she exclaimed, “about 
coming to see us ! ” 

Mrs. Justin was a little surprised that Gay should 
expect any such word, and she remarked that prob- 
ably Mr. Stratford did not think it necessary to an- 
nounce any intention of that kind. 

The fishing expedition came off the following 
Monday; and in order to stay out of town for that 
day, Mr. Crisman came to Cherry Bridge on Sunday 
instead of Saturday, as was his custom. This made 
his visit to Gay a comparatively short one ; but as she 
was easily brought to see that putting on time to one 
end of his visit made it necessary to take off some 
from the other, she did not complain. 

Mr. Stratford’s motives in agreeing to the proposal 
for a day’s fishing were of varied kinds. He had no 
164 


$ 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


particular desire to gratify the piscatorial propensities 
of Mr. Crisman, but he was more than willing to do 
anything which should be asked of him by Miss Armatt. 
But his principal object in consenting to be Mr. Cris- 
man’s companion for a whole day was to give that 
young man an opportunity of changing the opinion 
which he had formed of him. “It may be,” Stratford 
had said to himself, “that I am mistaken in my esti- 
mate of the man. There may be qualities in him 
which will counterbalance those to which I so greatly 
object. At present he is very commonplace and 
vulgar ; but his nature may be weaker than I take it 
to be, and he may be susceptible to the impressions 
which Gay would make upon almost any one, and 
thereby be drawn under her influence. If there is a 
possibility of anything of that kind, the marriage may 
be well enough. There is no reason to suppose that 
she could elevate him very much, but she might raise 
him high enough to enter with some sort of sympathy 
into her pursuits and purposes. He must always be a 
drag upon her, but he might not be able to pull her 
down. And, again, he may have points which are so 
good in themselves as to overbalance some of the bad 
ones I have noticed in him. If that be the case, I 
will let Mrs. Justin and Thorne have their way. If 
there is anything good in the man, it is bound to come 
out in the course of a day’s tramp.” 

Stratford was perfectly honest in his intentions 
toward his companion. He did not like Crisman, and 
would have been sorry, under any circumstances, to 
see him married to Gay, whose nature was of an en- 
tirely different order from that of her lover. But if 
there were any reason to believe that the marriage 
165 



THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


would not prove the wreck and ruin of which he 
thought so much and spoke so frequently, then he 
would consider it his duty not to interfere with the 
course events were taking. He did not intend during 
this day with Crisman to be a spy upon him ; in fact, 
he made up his mind to avoid saying or doing any- 
thing which would be calculated to bring into view 
the bad points of the young man $ he had seen enough 
of them, and desired to know no more concerning 
them. What he would make it his business to dis- 
cover was the good that might be in Crisman. 

The day was an admirable one for trout-fishing. 
The sky was slightly overspread by clouds ; there was 
breeze enough, and none too much ; and if Crisman 
had been a fellow inclined to grumble, which he was 
not, he would have found no reason for discontent this 
day. He had not known before what an agreeable 
and talkative companion Stratford could be, and what 
a generous fellow too, as was shown by his constantly 
surrendering favorable fishing opportunities to the 
younger man. There was another thing which Cris- 
man very much liked in Stratford : he obtruded no 
advice. Crisman had not had very much practice 
with the rod and fly, and his only mental objection, 
when Gay proposed this expedition, was founded on 
the fear that Stratford, whom he knew to be a skilful 
angler, would be continually telling him what he 
ought to do. Stratford had too much good feeling, as 
well as tact, for this. He knew that the young man 
had come out for a day’s fishing, and not a day’s 
teaching ; and he felt quite sure, too, that Crisman 
was not the man to submit to the presumption that 
teaching was necessary. So they got on capitally 
166 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


together, each fishing in his own way, and Crisman 
catching a good many trout, and rejoicing a great deal 
in his fortune. 

About the middle of the day they sat down in the 
shade of a great pine-tree to rest and eat the luncheon 
they had brought with them. When Crisman had 
satisfied his appetite, which was a very fine one, he 
lighted a cigar and stretched himself upon the ground, 
covered thickly with sweet-scented pine-needles, to 
have a smoke and enjoy the situation. Stratford sat 
near by, looking upon the young man with an expres- 
sion in which there was an odd mixture of kindly 
feeling and antipathy. He had found in Crisman 
much of that buoyant good nature which was so no- 
ticeable in Gay, and it seemed difficult to believe that 
under any circumstances he would be aught but a 
cheery and heartening companion ; and this disposition 
should count against a great many shortcomings in a 
matrimonial partner. But at the same time there was 
an air of self-assertion about Crisman which was un- 
pleasant to the other. There was no occasion for his 
asserting himself against anything or in favor of any- 
thing, and this assertion seemed to be a habit conse- 
quent upon a belief in a man’s right to demand from 
others a recognition of his merits. His theories, his 
creeds, and his prejudices were placed, so to speak, in 
his shop-window, and he stood at his door calling upon 
the passers-by to look upon them. 

11 There’s something very jolly and independent in 
all this,” said Crisman, as he unlaced and kicked off 
one of his heavy boots. “ There are no bonds of slavery 
here : no goods to sell, no books to keep, no customers, 
no firm, no women.” 


167 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Do you number women among your bonds of 
slavery ? 77 asked Stratford. 

“That depends / 7 answered Crisman. “There are 
moments when a woman is a good deal of a clog. For 
instance, if we had brought the ladies with us, I could 
not have made myself comfortable by kicking off that 
boot . 77 

“Very true , 77 said Stratford. 

“I don 7 t want you to think , 77 continued Crisman, 
after a puff of tobacco smoke had leisurely curled 
itself up from his mouth, as he lay stretched upon his 
back, his head resting on his coat, which he had rolled 
up for a pillow, “that I have anything to say against 
women. I am the last man in the world to do that. 
I suppose you know I am going to marry, and one of 
the finest human beings to be found on this planet 
will be my wife. If you knew Miss Guy Arniatt as I 
know her, you’d agree to that . 77 

“I agree perfectly , 77 said Stratford. 

“I truly believe , 77 continued Crisman, “that there 
isn’t a girl like her. I am not fool enough to say she 
is absolutely perfect,— an angel all but the wings, — 
but I will say this : that, with the exception of the 
way she has been over-educated,— and that, in my 
opinion, was the fault of other people more than her 
own,— she can’t be improved upon . 77 

“Over-educated?” remarked Stratford. 

“Yes, sir,” said Crisman ; “that’s exactly the word. 
She spent four solid years in learning things which 
will be of no more use to her than another pair of legs 
would be to that bird which you see flying up there. 
When she entered her college she was seventeen years 
old, and as well educated as any girl on earth need 
168 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

want to be ; and yet, she has wasted four years of her 
life in slaving at mathematics, Latin and Greek, and 
I don’t know what else besides, which are of no use 
whatever to a woman who expects to be a wife and a 
mother and the head of a family. I don’t say this to 
Gay, because it is done now and can’t be helped, and 
there’s no use raking up trouble about it. And I 
don’t say it to Mrs. Justin, because she had a very 
large finger in the pie, having pushed Gay on in this 
college business more than anybody else. But I say 
it to you, because you are a man, and can understand 
how I feel about it. I speak warmly on this matter, 
because I know lots of other girls who are going on in 
the same way Gay has gone, and I think it’s a shame 
that they are allowed to waste a good part of their 
lives in stuffing their minds with what to them is no 
more than dead leaves and ashes. Now, look at Gay 
Armatt. You wouldn’t believe it, but she’s twenty- 
one years old, and she might as well have been mar- 
ried three years ago. In that case she wouldn’t have 
married me, because I didn’t know her then ; but that 
doesn’t alter the principle of the thing. Now, allowing 
one year for courting, just look at the four years of 
absolute happiness that have been taken out of her 
life by this absurdity of sending her to college. If it 
had been really necessary for her to earn her living as 
a teacher, that would have been another thing ; but 
her friends ought to have known that for a girl like 
her there would be no necessity for anything of that 
kind. And that’s the case with nine tenths of the 
girls who go to college. They don’t intend to be 
teachers j and as soon as they get themselves graduated 
they begin to be interested in the things which really 
169 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


concern them, and forget all they have been taught at 
college in a confounded sight less time than it took 
them to learn it. The education that sticks to them 
is what they got before they went to college. Now, 
I want you to understand I’m not saying anything 
against Gay Armatt. She has lost a lot of time, but 
that can’t be helped ; and what she has learned isn’t 
going to hurt her. She talks a great deal about keep- 
ing up her studies after we are married, and making 
herself mistress of this and that thing which I don’t 
understand, and which, to tell the truth, I never tried 
to. I don’t say a word against all this, but just leave 
it to her own good sense to find out that when she 
has got her hands full of what makes up a woman’s 
real work in this world, she will have to give these 
other things the go-by.” 

“But suppose she does not see that for herself?” 
asked Stratford. 

“My dear sir,” said Crisman, sitting up and throwing 
away his cigar, “I am one of the most indulgent men 
in the world, and an easier-going temper than mine 
you won’t meet with often ; but if I had a wife who 
didn’t see that her true duty in life had nothing to do 
with the higher mathematics and Greek verbs, I’d 
make it my business that she did see it. There 
won’t be anything of this kind necessary with Gay, 
because she’s not the sort of girl to want to make 
my life miserable by poking among rubbish of 
that sort. When she knows I don’t like it, she’ll 
stop it.” 

At that moment a drinking- cup of glass which Strat- 
ford had been holding in his hand came heavily to the 
ground. 


170 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“ Anything broken ?” asked Crisman, with a quick 
turn of his head. 

“Yes,” said Stratford, rising, “I think there is.” 

Crisman looked at the fragments of the cup, and 
laughingly remarking that that was a case past mend- 
ing, put on his coat, and took up his rod and basket. 


171 


CHAPTER XIV 


When Mr. Crisman, toward the end of the afternoon, 
returned from his fishing excursion, he was seen afar 
by Miss Gay, who ran to meet him. As she came up 
to him, she first inquired why Mr. Stratford had not 
come back with him, and then asked if he had had a 
good day’s sport. She might have asked the second 
question first had it not been, in fact, only a matter of 
form ; for she saw in her lover’s face and demeanor 
that he had been enjoying himself. 

“Success ! ” he exclaimed. “I should say so ! ” And 
he lifted the lid of his basket. “Look at that ! I 
should have caught a lot more, for they were rising 
just as well as ever, but Stratford said we had all that 
the two families could possibly eat, and he didn’t see 
the use of catching any more. That is not my way, 
for when I go fishing, I go to catch all I can get and 
make a big count ; but, of course, as I was using his 
tackle and things, I didn’t press the matter, and we 
stopped an hour or two sooner than there was any 
need to. I did suggest that he should come back 
with me, but he didn’t seem to take to the idea.” 

Gay thought that when people had caught all the 
fish for which they had any use, it was a very sensible 
and humane thing to stop fishing. And she thought, 
172 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


moreover, that Mr. Stratford appeared to have good 
ideas on a great many different subjects. But she did 
not speak her thoughts. She had no doubt that as 
Charley grew older he would discover for himself a 
great many of the things which Mr. Stratford had dis- 
covered for himself. 

At dinner that evening the apparent disinclination 
of Mr. Stratford to visit at Cherry Bridge was men- 
tioned both by Gray and Crisman $ and although Mrs. 
Justin passed the matter over without comment, her 
mind was a good deal disturbed. It was an abnormal 
and exceedingly unpleasant state of affairs when her 
old friend Stratford lived at the Bullripple farm and 
did not come to Cherry Bridge. Not only did Mrs. 
Justin regret it because it deprived her of the com- 
pany of her friend, but she feared very much that 
Stratford’s absence might be noticed, and that the 
people in the neighborhood might connect it in some 
way with Gay’s presence at Cherry Bridge. Gossip 
of this sort would be painful and even abhorrent to 
Mrs. Justin, and she determined to put an end to 
what she considered a very unnatural condition of 
things. After Mr. Crisman’s departure the next morn- 
ing, she drove herself over to the Bullripple farm, 
where she was fortunate enough to find Mr. Stratford 
mending some fishing-tackle under the shade of a 
great oak in the front yard. 

“I have come to have a very plain talk with you,” 
she said. 

“I am glad of it,” said Stratford ; “here is the easiest 
outdoor chair the place affords.” 

“It may not be a very long conversation,” she said, 
“for I hope you will readily agree with me that it is 
173 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


absolutely wrong, from whatever point it may be 
looked at, for an old friend such as you are to live 
so near my house without visiting it. Of course I 
know the reason $ but I don’t think there ought to be 
any such reason. I trust you have come to the con- 
tusion that you are altogether mistaken in your ideas 
about the engagement of Mr. Crisman and Gay, and 
that you no longer think it your duty to interfere in 
the matter. That being the case, I am most anxious 
to tell you how earnestly I desire that you should 
visit my house as you used to, and be the same good 
friend to all of us that you once were.” 

Mrs. Justin leaned forward as she spoke, and there 
was a touch of moisture in her beautiful eyes. 

Stratford looked at her steadily for a moment be- 
fore he spoke. “Mrs. Justin,” he said, “you cannot 
imagine what pain it gives me to hear you speak in 
that way, and to answer you as I must.” 

“It often seems to me,” said Mrs. Justin, drawing 
herself a little back, “that when persons do things 
that not only give themselves pain but greatly grieve 
their friends, it should be self-evident that the way to 
make everybody happy is to stop doing those things.” 

Stratford smiled. “That quick way out of trouble 
will not answer in this case. I have the greatest pos- 
sible desire to visit your house, but I must also state 
that since our last conversation your views and mine 
concerning Miss Armatt’s engagement have become 
more widely different than they were before. I now 
believe that it would be an actual crime to allow that 
man to marry her.” 

“And you still persist,” said Mrs. Justin, “in your 
intention of endeavoring to win her away from him ? ” 
174 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“If the end can be accomplished in no other way, I 
most certainly do/’ said Stratford. 

“Then, of course,” said Mrs. Justin, her face paling 
a little as she spoke, “it will not do for you to visit 
Cherry Bridge while Gay is there.” 

She made a motion as if she were about to rise, but 
Stratford quickly said : “Do not go. There is much 
more I wish to say to you.” 

She kept her seat, and, leaning back in her chair, 
she sighed. “Oh,” she said, “if you would only tell 
me that you had determined to let those two be happy 
in their own way, how thankful I should be ! ” 

“I have been thinking over this matter a very great 
deal,” said Stratford, “and if you will be willing to 
join with me in what I wish to do, I will make an 
entire change in my plan.” 

“Join you ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Justin. 

“That is exactly what I mean,” he continued. “I 
want you to help me save this girl— your friend, 
whose promise and worth you know so thoroughly— 
from an absolutely unfit marriage.” 

“Mr. Stratford,” said she, “you know very well that 
I would sooner cut off my hand than to try to make 
a girl and a young man break the solemn promises 
that they have made to each other, especially when I 
know that they love each other with all their hearts.” 

“I have believed,” said Stratford, “and still believe, 
that the very best way of making Gay Armatt under- 
stand the wrong position she has taken in engaging 
herself to Crisman is to give her an opportunity of 
becoming acquainted with other men ; and I do not 
think I have flattered myself very much when I drew 
her attention to myself as a better man than Crisman. 

175 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


I do not hesitate to say to you that I believe that, 
had I the opportunity, I could make her understand 
what a companionship for life ought to be, and that 
she could never expect such a companionship in Cris- 
man.” 

“It is perfectly horrible to hear you talk that way,” 
said Mrs. Justin. 

“But I do not intend to insist,” said Stratford, 
“that this plan of mine is the only one by which Gay 
Armatt can be saved from the fate which threatens 
her ; and if you will undertake to make her perceive 
that it is a duty she owes to herself not to marry 
Crisman, I will give up the scheme which is so objec- 
tionable to you, and will retire absolutely from the 
affair.” 

“Why do you talk to me in that way?” said Mrs. 
Justin. “You know perfectly well that I would never 
consent to do anything of the kind.” 

“I thought it right to give you the opportunity,” 
said Stratford. “I knew you could exert a powerful 
influence on your young friend ; but, in spite of that, 
I should have very great fears for your success. The 
arguments of parents and friends against the suitability 
of lovers are generally but words wasted. In such 
cases it is better to divert the stream than to try to 
dam it. But, as I said before, notwithstanding my 
preference for my own plan, I am perfectly willing, if 
you will undertake this work—” 

“Which I will not,” interrupted Mrs. Justin. 

“—to put it into your hands. But, as you decline 
to take it, I feel it my duty to go on with it, if I shall 
have the opportunity.” 

“Mr. Stratford,” said his companion, leaning forward 
176 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


toward him again, “do you know anything terrible 
about Mr. Crisman, which makes you so relentless 
toward him? Has he committed a crime, or what is 
the matter with him, that you stand up so obstinately 
and declare that he shall not marry the woman of his 
choice? It cannot only be that he is of a lower intel- 
lectual grade than she. There must be something 
more than that which makes you wish to interfere 
between persons with whom you have no connection 
whatever.” 

“If you will look upon the matter with unbiased 
judgment,” said Stratford, “I think you must see that 
Crisman, for his own benefit and advantage, purposes 
to commit a crime.” And then, more minutely and 
forcibly than he had ever spoken of it before, he told 
Mrs. Justin what he had found Crisman to be, and 
deduced from that the disastrous result to Gay of her 
marriage with him. 

Mrs. People sat at one of the open windows of the 
farm-house, shelling peas and looking across the yard 
at the two who were talking under the great oak-tree. 
It was very easy to see that their business was impor- 
tant, and she hoped, from the bottom of her heart, 
that Mr. Stratford was making up his mind to buy a 
certain outlying portion of Mrs. Justin’s estate. Often 
and often had Mrs. People urged that purchase upon 
him, and she did trust that now her words were be- 
ginning to come to something. To be sure, she would 
be very sorry not to have him live with them every 
summer, but all that might stop at any time j and he 
would make a most excellent summer neighbor, both 
to herself and brother, and to Mrs. Justin. And, 
more than that, the fact that a city man came to 
177 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Cherry Bridge and bought property and built would 
help the sale of land in the neighborhood, and might 
put money into Enoch’s pocket, and, ultimately, into 
that of her son John. Therefore she did most truly 
trust that Mr. Stratford was telling Mrs. Justin just 
exactly what he was willing to give, and that she 
would agree to it. 

Stratford talked earnestly and steadily and a long 
time 5 and when he had finished, Mrs. J ustin arose 
from her chair. 

“You have convinced me of but one thing,” she 
said, “and that is, you truly believe your motive is a 
good one. What you say of Mr. Crisman may be true 
now, but he is still young, and I cannot believe that it 
will always be true ; and, in any case, there is the fact 
before us that the two have promised to marry each 
other.” 

She moved toward her pony- carriage, he walking 
by her side. “I see that I can make no impression on 
you,” she said, “but still I do not intend to give up 
my object of restoring the old condition of friendly 
intercourse between us. I cannot say now what I 
shall do, but the thing must be done. If necessary, 
Gay’s visit to me shall be brought to a close.” 

“I beg of you,” said Stratford, earnestly, “not to 
think of anything of that sort. I will go away myself.” 

“How will that help to restore our friendship, and 
give me an opportunity of discussing with you all 
those points I have set down in my memorandum- 
book? No, you must stay here j and in a day or 
two I will let you know what I have determined 
upon. I will do nothing without first advising you 
of it.” 


178 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


And she stepped into her phaeton, and took the 
reins which Stratford handed to her. 

When Mr. Stratford returned from a long drive at 
the close of the next day, he was handed a note from 
Mrs. Justin, which had arrived for him in the morning. 
It read as follows : 

“Dear Mr. Stratford: From the moment you read 
this I wish you to understand that you are to come to see 
us as often and stay as long as your important engage- 
ments with trout and mountain views will permit. Do 
not imagine from this that I have exiled my dear Gay. 
Her presence here need not have the slightest effect on 
your coming, and your coming will not have the slightest 
effect upon her. This may appear a little cruel, but I 
must admit that I take a certain wicked pleasure in 
writing it. As I do not wish to mystify you any longer, 
I will immediately state that I have had a long conver- 
sation with Gay, and I find that you and I might have 
saved ourselves the trouble of discussing the subject of 

her engagement. She is perfectly devoted to Mr. C , 

and I am positive that there is no person living who 
could divert her affections from him. I always knew she 
loved him most sincerely, but I never imagined the 
strength and depth of her affection until I had that talk 
with her last evening. And, more than that, if you could 
hear, which you shall not, the plans which this dear girl, 
now opening her soul for the first time in fullest confi- 
dence to a friend, has made for work with him and for 
him, you would long for the power to deny to yourself 
that you had ever thought of interfering with their hap- 
piness. One of the strongest points in favor of her com- 
plete success in carrying out her plans is that she knows 
his shortcomings, and, in my opinion, has most admira- 
ble ideas with regard to the way in which they ought to 

179 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


be treated. She will be a guardian angel to him, and I 
firmly believe that in one year after their marriage Mr. 
Crisman will be an entirely different person from the 
young man whom we now know. So you see, my dear 
philanthropist, that your schemes for this young lady’s 
benefit can come to nothing; that is, they cannot produce 
the result which you desire. Their only effect will be 
that her studies will be assisted, her knowledge of the 
world will be increased, and her mind will receive that 
polish from contact with the mind of a thoroughly well- 
educated and cultured man which I desired when I 
planned for the frequent companionship of yourself and 
Gay. 

“ Yours in a most delighted state of mind, 

“ Lilian Justin. 

“ P. S. Of course, in my conversation with Gay I 
never alluded to you in any way. 

“ In reading over this letter, I cannot help feeling a 
little sorry for you. I know I ought not to have such a 
feeling, but I have it— just a little.” 


180 


CHAPTER XY 


It was deeply exasperating to the soul of J. Weatherby 
Stull to find that his tact and cunning had been over- 
matched and his important secret discovered by that 
wily-souled old farmer, Enoch Bullripple. To many 
men this defeat would have been humiliating, but Mr. 
Stull could not be humiliated ; he was simply enraged 
and filled with a desire for vengeance. 

The advantage which Mr. Bullripple had gained 
over him with regard to the future prospects of John 
People troubled Mr. Stull not at all. In fact, he was 
glad to make John a partner with a very small interest 
in the Vatoldi concern, and probably would have done 
so some day of his own accord. This position secured 
John’s secrecy concerning the identity of the principal 
owner, for the young man had been made to under- 
stand thoroughly that in case of bad faith on his part 
the business would be brought to a sudden close. Re- 
garding the old man’s possession of the secret Mr. Stull 
felt perfectly safe. Enoch Bullripple had promised 
him before the agreement with John had been con- 
cluded that he would never divulge the fact that Mr. 
Stull owned Vatoldi’s; and when Enoch Bullripple 
had given his word, Mr. Stull knew that it would be 
kept. In fact, the secret was much safer when Enoch 
181 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

knew it and promised to keep it than when unknown 
to him and the subject of his prying curiosity. 

But his satisfaction in regard to this phase of the 
affair made no difference in Stull’s feelings toward the 
old scoundrel who, with unparalleled effrontery, had 
laid his sacrilegious hands upon that thing of inesti- 
mable worth, the product of years of thought and expe- 
rience, the Vatoldi system. In his vandalic operations 
Enoch had shown such fiendish ingenuity that Mr. 
Stull felt sure he must for some time have suspected 
the identity of the man against whose peace of mind 
his machinations were directed, and that he was thus 
endeavoring, in some degree, to take a spiteful ven- 
geance on Mr. Stull for that gentleman’s acquisition, 
perfectly legal and proper, of his sister’s farm. 

That Enoch Bullripple should suffer for his malicious 
wrong-doing Mr. Stull was fully determined, and he 
believed he had tact enough to ruin the old farmer, 
and yet give him no reason to believe that he had 
anything to do with it. 

With all this arranged and ordered in his very 
orderly mind, Mr. Stull found himself once more in 
buoyant and cheerful spirits. He had work before 
him, and he was glad to do it. With regard to 
Yatoldi’s his action would be prompt and vigorous. 
The place had been desecrated, and the most radical 
measures would be necessary to place it again upon 
its former footing. The boycotters, who had been 
much disheartened by the changes that had taken 
place under the Bullripple administration, were en- 
couraged to fresh efforts by the return of John People 
to his post. They imagined that his absence had been 
a ruse to make them suppose that the business had 
182 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


passed into other hands, and they determined to show 
Mr. People that they were not to be deterred by such 
tricks as that. 

But little Mr. Stull cared now for the boycotters. 
With his faithful manager again at his command, and 
with Vatoldi’s, such as it used to be, absolutely gone 
and vanished, so that no thought of interference with 
its orderly system and its prosperity need prevent his 
making any change he might choose, he decided upon 
a bold step. He would close up the place, renovate, 
beautify, and enlarge it, and reopen it as the old 
Vatoldi’s invigorated with fresh youth. All the cir- 
cumstances of the case were in his favor. It was the 
season when the patrons he most cared for were out 
of town. A large adjoining store on which he had for 
years cast longing eyes was now at his disposal, and, 
above all, there was no better way to cleanse the 
establishment from its recent contaminations than to 
blot it out of existence for a time, and then recreate 
it in its old form. 

Accordingly the firemen-waiters were discharged, 
the business was closed up, and when some boycotters 
arrived with a quantity of new circulars printed on 
bright red paper, they found the shutters up and the 
door locked, and a notice posted, which stated that in 
consequence of extensive alterations and enlargements 
the establishment would be closed for some weeks. 
This put an end to the boycotting business. The body 
of former waiters, who for some time had been regret- 
ting that they had not been willing to stick to their 
aprons and jackets, had been lately assured by their 
leader that John People’s running away and coming 
back was a sign of weakness, and that a fresh attack 
183 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


upon him would surely be successful. They now lost 
all hope. Their strike had brought a great deal of 
privation upon them. Even supposing their action 
had been the real cause of the closing of the establish- 
ment, it had not been of the least benefit to them- 
selves. Having now nothing to fight against, they 
determined to go to work as soon as they could ; but, 
before doing so, they took the man who had led them 
into all their troubles into a lonely back yard, and 
after giving him a most unanimous beating, they 
emptied upon him two barrels of ashes, and would 
have provided him with sackcloth if they had sup- 
posed it would add to the gloominess of his reflections. 

Through John People, Mr. Stull now arranged with 
contractors for his intended improvements ; and when 
all the plans had been made, and everything prepared 
for the beginning of the work, Mr. Stull thought it a 
suitable time to give John the holiday for which his 
uncle had stipulated. During the preliminary demoli- 
tion of partitions, and tearing up of floors, and carting 
away of rubbish, the contractors would need no super- 
vision. But when the new work was actually begun, 
Mr. Stull would wish his managing partner to be on 
hand to make daily reports and receive daily instruc- 
tions. 

The usually serene John had been very angry dur- 
ing his brief sojourn in the South, and when he 
returned he had not hesitated to tell his uncle what 
he thought of the trick which had been played upon 
him. But old Enoch had received his nephew’s re- 
proaches with such imperturbability, and had taken 
such immediate and decided steps for the furtherance 
of the young man’s business prosperity, that the latter 
184 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


could not but forgive him. With nothing, therefore, 
to cast a cloud upon the radiant skies of his holiday, 
John repaired to the scenes of his boyhood. 

Mr. Stull’s family usually went into the country as 
early in the season as any other fashionable people, 
but this year the domestic economies had been very 
much interfered with by the Yatoldi disturbances, 
and the family were still in town. For reasons of his 
own Mr. Stull determined not to go to a watering-place, 
but to the farm which he owned in the pleasant region 
of Cherry Bridge. His wife and daughters were ready 
to leave town much sooner than he himself desired to 
go, and they were therefore despatched, in company 
with their voluminous baggage, to take possession of 
the apartments that had been prepared for the family 
in the house of the tenant of the farm, with whom 
they were to board. 

It might have appeared to an ordinary observer, 
cognizant of Mr. Stull’s designs against the financial 
prosperity of Enoch Bullripple, that it was a rash and 
imprudent step for Stull, if he wished to remain un- 
known as the author of the intended injuries to the 
old farmer, to come into the neighborhood at the time 
when the injuries were about to be inflicted. But Mr. 
Stull had his wits about him. He had resolved that 
under no circumstances would he show in this affair, 
and when his working operations had been finally 
decided upon, he found that his occasional presence at 
Cherry Bridge would be a great aid in the preserva- 
tion of his secret. This, therefore, was the principal 
reason for selecting this long-unvisited farm as a suit- 
able place for his summer sojourn. 

Mrs. Stull, whose tastes were rather domestic than 
185 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


otherwise, was very willing, after a winter of a some- 
what goaded social activity, to retire into an unevent- 
ful country life ; the two younger girls, both in short 
dresses, were delighted at the prospect of field rambles 
and mountain scrambles ; and even Miss Matilda 
thought she might find a good deal to amuse and in- 
terest her independent and practical mind at Cherry 
Bridge. 

During the first week of their stay on the farm Mr. 
Stull’s family found their anticipations of pleasure 
fully realized ; but toward the end of that period Miss 
Matilda was obliged to admit to herself that things 
were getting a little dull. She had taken all the 
drives she cared to take with her mother and sisters ; 
she had taken all the walks she cared to take by 
herself, for her mother never walked, and the two 
girls always ran ; and she began to see that nature had 
not designed her to be happy under any circumstances 
in which she had nobody to talk to. 

It was in this mood that she sauntered, one day, 
across a broad pasture-field through which a narrow 
path meanderingly ran. With one small and tightly 
gloved hand she held a bright red parasol over her 
head, and with the other hand she raised the skirt of 
her fashionably modelled dress just enough to show 
her tightly fitting boots. To those who were ac- 
quainted with this small but very pretty young 
woman, everything about her seemed to partake of 
the characteristics of her gloves and boots. Even her 
ideas, although they were not very far-reaching, were 
admirably adapted and shaped to their objects. 

Raising her eyes as she daintily trod the narrow 
path, she saw approaching her a young man of rotund 
186 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


and sturdy proportions, an upright carriage, and a 
strong, energetic, though rather rolling gait. His 
rounded cheeks were somewhat flushed, perhaps from 
exercise, and on his brow there was an air of gentle 
resignation, mingled now with some other feeling, 
which might be embarrassment, uncertain anticipa- 
tion, or some form of indeterminate anxiety. The 
moment the eyes of Miss Matilda fell upon this young 
man she recognized him by the resigned brow which 
she had frequently noticed while taking refreshments 
at Vatoldi’s. 

John had seen Miss Matilda long before she had 
noticed him. He was not altogether surprised at the 
vision of this being who for many months had been 
so prominent in his thoughts, for he knew the family 
were coming to their farm, and it was very natural 
that Miss Matilda should give herself the pleasure of 
a walk abroad. His soul was rejoiced to look upon her 
again, but his ideas of propriety and exact social con- 
duct were in a sad tremble. He did not know what 
he ought to do when he met her. Strictly speaking, 
he was not acquainted with her, although some slight 
conversation had once taken place between them at 
the cashier’s desk at Vatoldi’s. It might be that she 
would not resent a bow from him, should she but 
remember that she had spoken with him, notwith- 
standing a collateral recollection of having very often 
paid him for her luncheons. Moreover, the two were 
now in the country, upon a narrow path through a 
field, and under such circumstances it was certainly 
proper for a man to raise his hat when he passed a 
lady, no matter whether she recognized him or not. 
But more powerful than these motives impelling him 
187 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


to bow to Miss Matilda was the remembrance that 
he was now her father’s partner. To be sure, she did 
not know this, but he was very conscious of it, and 
this consciousness had already begun to have a stiffen- 
ing effect upon his character. Miss Matilda might not 
deign even to look at him, but a rebuff of this kind 
would not have the effect upon him it would have 
had a few weeks before. “Therefore,” said John to 
himself, “I shall take off my hat as I pass her.” And 
as this act, look upon it as he might, had in it a gentle 
flavor of acquaintanceship, it was quite natural his 
heart should flutter and his cheeks increase their 
healthful glow. 

But, to the great surprise of the young man, Miss 
Stull stopped before he reached her, and stood look- 
ing pleasantly at him as if she were awaiting his ap- 
proach. This was indeed the case, for the heart of 
Miss Matilda was cheered by the sight of a young 
man whose appearance was familiar to her, and to 
whom she had a very fair excuse for speaking. 

“Good morning,” she said, when he was near enough. 

John, his whole being thoroughly moved by this 
salutation, stopped, took off his hat, put it on again, 
ejaculated “Good morning,” and without any volition 
on his part was about to pass on. 

But Miss Matilda had no intention of allowing this. 
“Are you not the gentleman who attended to the 
desk at Vatoldi’s restaurant? ” she said. “I have seen 
you there so often that I recognized you immediately, 
although it appears very odd to meet you out here in 
this far-away country place.” 

John indistinctly murmured something to the effect 
that it was rather odd. 


188 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Blit now I come to think of it,” she continued, 
“you once told me you were born here. In that case 
of course it isn’t odd that you should sometimes come 
here.” 

The fact that she remembered the little conversation 
gave John such a rush of delight to the head that he 
was incapable of making an immediate remark suit- 
able to the occasion, and stammered out instead some 
words which seemed to indicate that he thought it 
was rather odd that he should have been born here. 

“Everything must seem very familiar to you,” said 
Miss Matilda, “and things ought to be very familiar to 
me too, for I used to live here when I was a girl. But, 
somehow or other, they are not. These fields are not 
so large as I remember them, and the mountains and 
woods seem a great deal nearer than they used to be. 
I wonder if this is the field where that old gentle- 
man, who told me in the restaurant that he was your 
uncle, used to keep a savage bull for the sole purpose, 
as I believed, of frightening children off the grass'? ” 

John’s tumultuous emotion was now subsiding into 
an astonished delight at the friendly words and manner 
of Miss Stull. “Yes, ma’am,” said he, “this is the field, 
but there is no bull here now.” 

“Oh, I am not in the slightest degree afraid of that,” 
said Miss Matilda, “with some one here to drive him 
away.” 

John smiled and glowed, and, emboldened by his 
pleasure, made an independent remark. “You 
couldn’t have been very much afraid of it, ma’am,” 
he said, “when you came into the field with your red 
parasol.” 

“I did think of the bull,” said Miss Matilda, twirling 
189 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


the parasol in front of her as she spoke, “and I thought 
if he should come at me it would be a very good thing 
to have this red parasol. I should have thrown it 
down in the way he was coming, and then, while he 
was horning it, I should have run away.” 

“That would have been a tiptop thing to do,” said 
John, admiringly. “I don’t believe anybody could 
have done better than that.” 

“Except keep out of the field altogether,” she said. 
“And now, can you tell me which way I ought to go 
to find a path which will lead me to some place where 
I can get into the road that runs by my father’s farm ? 
You know where that is? ” 

“Oh, yes,” said John ; “that is the place I was born 
on. If you just walk across the grass to the fence- 
corner over there, you will come to bars which can be 
let down, and then on the other side of the next field 
is a gate which opens into the road.” 

“How do you let down bars?” asked Miss Matilda. 

“Oh, I’ll go over and do it for you,” said John. 

Miss Matilda smiled and thanked him, and the two 
walked together over the grass to the fence-corner. 

“It seems strange,” said Miss Stull, “that, being 
born on a farm, you did not stay there and become a 
farmer instead of going to the city and keeping a 
restaurant.” 

“I didn’t have any choice in the matter,” said John. 
And in his heart he thought that he was rejoiced that 
his mother’s home had been snatched from her, and 
that he had been cast forth upon the world ; for other- 
wise he would never have come in contact with the 
Stulls, and this enrapturing walk across the fields 
could never have been a reality. 

190 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


u After all/’ continued the lady, “it isn’t such a very 
bad arrangement, for I suppose your uncle can raise 
bulls here and send them down to be used in your 
restaurant.” 

John smiled vigorously. “Uncle does sometimes sell 
us things from the farm, but we never have any call 
for the kind of meat you speak of. All that we buy 
is the tenderest and best.” 

“That is very true,” said Miss Matilda, “for I re- 
member that I often used to get there the nicest kinds 
of lamb-chops and, sometimes, sweetbreads.” 

Had the heavens opened? Was it possible that the 
memory of those carefully reserved chops and sweet- 
breads still lingered in her soul? Could it be that 
they had made an impression thereon ? Dared he to 
believe that she saw in these delicacies something 
more than the lamb or the calf could offer? Be the 
truth what it might, it was enough now to know that 
she remembered those choice bits which he had so 
carefully preserved for her in the corner of his ice-box, 
and which represented the feelings that filled, not a 
corner, but the whole of his heart. 

“If ever again,” he said to himself, as he strode 
proudly beside her, “she doesn’t come for two or three 
days, and any of those cuts are left over, no soul on 
earth shall eat them but myself ! ” 

The bars were taken down with great alacrity. 
Then John offered to accompany the lady to the gate, 
for, as he remarked, it was more than likely that it 
was fastened up in some way that would make it hard 
for her to open it. Miss Stull had no desire to lose 
John’s company at that point, and, accepting his offer, 
the two continued their walk. 


191 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


When they had passed through a gate which really 
did require the hand of a man to open it, J ohn said, 
pointing to a farm-house which stood some little dis- 
tance back from the road : “That is the house of my 
uncle, Mr. Bullripple. My mother lives with him, 
and I am spending my holiday there. Wouldn’t you 
like to step in and rest? My mother will be very 
glad to see you, and it is a good mile to your father’s 
farm along this road.” 

Miss Matilda hesitated a moment. “Do you think 
your mother could give me a glass of milk?” she 
said. 

“Milk !” exclaimed John, “gallons of it ! Rich as 
cream, and right out of the cool spring-house.” 

“That sounds nice,” said Miss Matilda, “although I 
don’t want gallons. I think I shall stop and rest.” 

With more of a roll, and more of a swell, and more 
of a vigorous step than he had ever shown before, 
John crossed the road and threw open the Bullripple 
gate. Up the short lane shaded by cherry-trees he 
proudly escorted Miss Stull. The young lady declared 
she did not care to go into the house, but would rather 
rest in the shade outside, so John led her to a chair 
under the great oak-tree where stood the table at 
which Mr. Stratford frequently wrote his letters. 

“I will tell mother you are here,” said John, “and 
you shall have some milk in a moment.” 

When Mrs. People heard who was sitting under the 
tree, she knitted her brow. Her opinion of Mr. Stull 
was one of the strongest reprobation, and, years ago, 
had been personally stated to him. She had never 
changed this opinion, nor did she know of any reason 
why she should like anything belonging to him. If 
192 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

his daughter stopped in her yard and asked for a drink 
of milk, she would give it to her just as she would 
give it to a needy tramp, but she did not want to go 
out and see her. Besides, she was busy in the kitchen, 
and was not in a condition to see folks. 

“Mother,” said John, “I will go to the spring-house 
and get a pitcher of milk, and will you please put 
some of those big raspberries that were picked to-day 
into something, and I will take them out to her.” 

The chin of Mrs. People went up into the air, and 
she made no answer. She was not accustomed to 
refuse any request made by her dear boy, but this was 
going very far. Why should John put himself to so 
much trouble to refresh old StulPs daughter? She 
stepped to a window of the kitchen which was in the 
end of the house and commanded a view of the oak- 
tree. The girl out there was certainly very pretty, 
and wore as stylish clothes as ever had been seen in 
that part of the country. Mrs. People did not affect 
such things herself, but she knew them when she saw 
them. 

As she stood and gazed on Miss Matilda, a brilliant 
idea flashed into Mrs. People’s mind. “Suppose,” she 
thought, “just suppose that should happen ! ” and she 
rubbed together her floury hands. She knew that 
Miss Stull, as well as her father, frequently came to 
Vatoldi’s, and she supposed it was there John had 
made the young lady’s acquaintance, and nothing 
could be more natural than that they should like each 
other. She was truly a pretty little piece of goods ; 
and as for John, a manlier figure and an honester face 
were never created for the delight of womankind. 
Yes, indeed ; if that should come about, the family 
193 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


would get back more than they had lost 5 and if old 
Stull didn’t like it, he could lump it. And to know 
that he lumped it would be a rare joy to Mrs. People. 

Quickly now the good woman washed her hands. A 
handsome glass dish was heaped with bright red rasp- 
berries, several slices of her nicest cake were put upon 
a pretty china plate, a bowl of white sugar was brought 
out, and when John appeared with the milk she sent 
him back for a pitcher of cream. And while he was 
gone she glanced along her pantry shelves, and added 
some guava-jelly to the other refreshments. When 
John came, he covered a tray with a large napkin, and 
with much celerity arranged upon it the articles men- 
tioned, together with the necessary spoons, saucers, 
napkin, and tumbler, and a glass of water. Throwing 
a small table-cloth over his left arm, John took up the 
tray and stepped briskly into the yard, his mother 
assuring him that she would go out and speak to the 
young lady as soon as she had put on something fit to 
be seen. 

Arrived at the tree, the tray was daintily placed 
upon the grass, the cloth was swiftly but correctly 
spread upon the table, and then, with the skill of the 
head man at Vatoldi’s, John placed dishes, glasses, 
pitchers, and saucers upon the fine white cloth. 

u Goodness gracious!” exclaimed Miss Stull, when 
John appeared. “ You’ve brought me a regular meal ! 
But I must say this seems quite natural ! Why, I 
could almost imagine myself at Vatoldi’s, and you, or 
one of your waiters, fixing up everything in such a 
tempting way ! ” 

And Miss Matilda, not at all loath to enjoy what 
was set before her, drew off her gloves and began her 
194 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


repast ; while John poured out the milk, served the 
berries, handed the cream and sugar, proffered the 
cake, and performed every service with the gr&ce 
and foresight of an accomplished knight of the res- 
taurant. 

Now appeared at the front door of the house Mr. 
Stratford, prepared for an afternoon drive. Somewhat 
surprised at the scene under the oak-tree, he stood 
and gazed at it with considerable interest. “Are the 
business instincts of that young man so strong,” he 
thought, “that he has started a restaurant in the 
yard? He has, certainly, a very nice-looking cus- 
tomer.” 

It was plain to a man of observation that John’s 
attentions to the lady who was refreshing herself were 
much more assiduous than those paid by the ordinary 
waiter , and Mr. Stratford smiled as he noticed the 
alacrity and readiness with which the young man an- 
ticipated and provided for the desires of the lady. 

Having put on his gloves, Mr. Stratford walked 
across an opposite corner of the yard toward a hitch- 
ing-post where his horse and buggy awaited him. 
Miss Stull now first noticed him, and immediately in- 
quired of John who was that gentleman. John gave 
her the necessary information, and, while expressing 
her surprise that a gentlemanlike that should be will- 
ing to shut himself up here in a farm-house, she 
watched Mr. Stratford as he prepared to drive away. 
She admired his straight and well-proportioned figure $ 
she appreciated to the full the correct and handsome 
fashion of the clothes he wore ; and although his face 
was somewhat embrowned, it met with her entire ap- 
proval. Instantly she began to think that this neigh- 
195 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


borhood, which that morning had seemed to her so 
dull, might yet prove quite interesting. 

Stratford drove away, and almost immediately after- 
wards Mrs. People appeared under the oak-tree, 
attired in a pink-and-white-striped frock, very much 
washed and starched. She offered Miss Stull a very 
friendly greeting, which that young lady received with 
suitable moderation. John placed a chair for his 
mother, and, the repast having been concluded, he 
carried away the dishes, table-cloth, and napkin. 

“I’m very much obliged to you for your milk,” said 
Miss Matilda, “and the berries were really delicious.” 
She said nothing about the cake, which Mrs. People 
had made herself, and praise of which she anxiously 
awaited, but proceeded to ask Mrs. People if there 
were many persons from the cities now staying in this 
part of the country. 

“No,” said Mrs. People, generously refraining from 
any hints in regard to the quality of the cake. “There’s 
Mr. Stratford, who, perhaps, you noticed just goin’ 
away in his buggy. He’s been spendin’ the summers 
with us for a good many years, an’ no President of the 
United States ever came near him for bein’ an out- 
and-out gentleman from his hat to his boots. He’s 
goin’ now to see Mrs. Justin, who lives about three 
miles from here, an’ she might, perhaps, be called 
city folks too, because she has a house in town, 
although this one is her real home, bein’ where her 
husband died, an’ where she comes every year just as 
certain as the spring lambs. Besides these, there’s no 
city folks except a gentleman who comes every Satur- 
day to Mrs. Justin’s to see a young lady who is stayin’ 
there, who is just about as pretty as any pictur’ that 
196 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


ever was painted, though John has said to me two or 
three times— an’ when I first heard him speak of it I 
couldn’t for the life of me think why he made such a 
p’int of her looks— that she’s not the kind of a girl he 
fancies, there bein’ somethin’ too much of her, an’ an 
air about her which he calls Too larky,’ havin’ seen 
her once or twice walkin’ over the fields, an’ goin’ 
along in a way which I suppose reminded him of a 
lark-bird ; an’ says he to me, ‘Mother,’— an’ I declare 
I didn’t understand what he meant when he first said 
it,— ‘ mother,’ said he, The kind of a girl I fancy is 
more like a wren ’ j one of these jenny -wrens, ma’am, 
that build in a box. You don’t see ’em in the city, 
perhaps, but there’s plenty of ’em here. An’ John 
says he fancies a girl that’s more like them, bein’ lit- 
tler than a lark, an’ more natty an’ smarter ; an’ I 
am sure no one would ever be offended if they could 
once see a wren settin’ on the top of her box, just as 
neat as a new pin, an’ always there when wanted— at 
least, I suppose so, though, never havin’ wanted a 
wren, I can’t say for certain, though I know very well 
that a lark is a different kind of a bird, an’ not to be 
depended on.” 

About larks and wrens Miss Stull cared nothing at 
all, and she perceived none of the delicate allusions in 
Mrs. People’s remarks. But she took great interest in 
Mrs. Justin, and asked many questions about her. 
The Justins had always kept aloof from the Stulls, 
and Miss Matilda had never heard the name men- 
tioned. Now, however, she determined that she 
would make it a point to become acquainted with 
Mrs. Justin. If the neighborhood were to be made 
interesting she must know her neighbors. 

197 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Miss Matilda soon took her leave, and although 
John offered to walk with her as far as her father’s 
farm, she declined his services. The road would lead 
her directly home, she said, and there was ever so 
much of the afternoon left. 

Mrs. People and John accompanied their visitor to 
the gate, and as she went out she turned to the latter 
and said, with a smile : “If I thought there was any 
chance of meeting a bull in the road perhaps I might 
let you go with me.” 

If John had read her expression he would have seen 
that it indicated a desire not to drop wholly the ac- 
quaintance of one who might yet be useful to her. 
But he could find no immediate answer to this remark, 
and merely allowed himself a melancholy smile. But 
his mother did not hesitate an instant. 

“Now, Miss Stull,” said she, “just let me tell you 
this : Old Mr. Barclay, who lives, himself, down at 
the Bridge, has got a field just at the turn of the road 
there, where he most commonly pastures some cattle, 
an’ sometimes he does have a bull among ’em, which it 
may be cross an’ it may be not, which is not for you 
nor me to say, Miss Stull, not havin’ seen him. An’ 
though Mr. Barclay always does keep up his fences, 
like a good neighbor as he is, he hasn’t been along this 
way for more’n a week,— yes, I guess it’s a good two 
weeks,— an’ I’ve found out in the course of my life 
that no farm-hand is to be depended on in the matter 
of top rails bein’ up like the master himself. An’ 
now, you see, Miss Stull, if there is a bull in that field, 
an’ he happens to be a cross one, an’ some of the top 
rails has been knocked down, or been left not put up, 
an’ none of us not knowin’ can say that none of them 
198 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


things isn’t, why, then it would be a great sight safer, 
Miss Stull, for you to let my son John walk along with 
you as far as your father’s gate.” 

Miss Matilda laughed. “ Thank you,” she said, “but 
I think I’ll take the chances.” And she walked 
briskly away. 


199 


CHAPTER XYI 


As Mr. Stratford rode away from the Bullripple farm, 
his mind was somewhat occupied by conjectures re- 
garding the young lady who was being served with 
refreshments under the great oak-tree. He began to 
fear that Mrs. People had been induced to take other 
boarders, which would be in violation of the verbal 
contract he had made with her. The notion of it 
troubled him, especially as nothing had been pre- 
viously said about it, and this would imply a total 
change in the frank and communicative manner of his 
landlady. Resolving to inquire into the matter as soon 
as he returned to the farm, he put it all behind him 
long before he arrived at Mrs. Justin’s house. 

The lady of the mansion was on the piazza, and she 
was very glad to see him. A return to the friendly 
intercourse of so many years was delightful to her true 
soul, as loyal to her friends as to her memories. But 
her reception of Stratford, warm and cordial as it was, 
appeared tame and lukewarm when compared to the 
greeting given him by Gay when that young lady 
came flying down stairs and out of the front door to 
meet him. She ran to him with glowing cheeks and 
sparkling eyes and both hands outstretched. 

As she looked on at this meeting the spirits of Mrs. 

200 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Justin fell a degree or two, and her faith in Gay’s un- 
alterable devotion to Mr. Crisman wavered for a mo- 
ment. Never had she seen that young lady so glad to 
meet her lover. But quickly the assuring reflection 
came to her that lovers do not exhibit their true feel- 
ing before other people, and that Gay’s joy at having 
Mr. Crisman with her was probably shown to him 
alone. This was all open and free for anybody to see, 
and meant nothing but that Gay was delighted to 
meet again this kind friend and teacher. If the girl 
had suspected for a moment what Stratford had 
thought about her and Mr. Crisman there would have 
been no such greeting as this. So the free-hearted 
openness of Gay’s manner to her friend proved the 
strength of her love for her lover, and the spirits of 
Mrs. Justin rose to their previous level. 

“And now, you must tell us,” said Gay, “why you 
have stayed away so long. It was very kind of you to 
take Mr. Crisman fishing. He says he has not had 
such a good day for ever so long. Everything would 
have been simply perfect if you had come back with 
him to dinner, and we all could have talked over the 
day’s adventures.” 

At this Stratford smiled, but a touch of pity came 
into his heart when he thought of what a bad day he 
might make of that good one of which the young man 
had spoken so cheerily. But all sentiment of this kind 
quickly vanished as he looked at Gay and thought of 
Crisman. 

Mr. Stratford would not stay to dinner, but he prom- 
ised to come and dine on the morrow, when Mr. Cris- 
man would be there. Mrs. Justin and Gay walked 
with him to his vehicle, and the young girl broke into 
201 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


strong admiration of the horse. Without a thought 
of anything more than she said, she declared that it 
must be absolutely delightful to ride behind such an 
animal as that. 

“ Wouldn’t you like to test it?” said Stratford, 
“ There’s plenty of time for a drive of a mile or 
two.” 

Gay, with her face full of the most ardent consent, 
looked at Mrs. Justin, while Stratford remarked that 
he was sorry the capacity of his vehicle did not permit 
him to ask them both. 

Mrs. Justin hesitated, but quickly concluded that 
any disapprobation of the drive, such a commonplace 
thing in itself, would show to Stratford that she did 
not believe what she had written to him in her letter. 
So she stiffened her mind with the thought of Gay’s 
fidelity, and she said : “Why not take her a little 
drive? You ought to show her the quality of your 
horse.” 

“Do you always drive as fast as this?” exclaimed 
Gay, when they were on the public road. “What a 
magnificent horse ! His hind legs work like a steam- 
engine ! It’s perfectly splendid to see him let himself 
down with the skin wrinkling on his back, and his 
ears up. Why, this is going like the wind ! ” 

“I seldom drive so fast,” said Stratford, “but I 
thought you would like a short spurt of speed, and as 
we have but little time I want to get you up to the 
Summit as soon as possible. There will be a fine view 
from there this evening.” 

“You can’t go too fast for me,” said Gay, “and I 
wish the Summit were twelve miles away instead of two. 

“What ! Here already ! ” she exclaimed presently, 
202 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


when they reached a spot where the road began to 
dip into the valley beneath. “Why, Mr. Stratford, 
it’s a long, long walk ! ” 

“And a short, short spin on wheels/’ he replied. 
“And now, look out there ! Isn’t that worth coming 
to see f ” 

Gay had looked upon this view before, but never at 
this hour. They were on a different side of the ridge 
from which, sitting on a rail fence, they had once 
viewed the sunset $ and a far wider extent of country 
was spread out before them. The opening glories of 
the western sky were at their backs, but beneath them 
stretched a far-reaching plain, green here with pas- 
tures, yellow there with ripening grain, and these 
brighter colors relieved by great masses of thick forest 
which seemed to be retiring in irregular columns 
toward a distant line of mountainsiwhich raised them- 
selves, clear and blue, along the horizon. The great, 
white clouds which floated in the sky were tinged with 
a delicate pink by the reflections from the west, and 
over everything there fell the veil of evening, which 
at this hour softened, without obscuring, the scene. 

“This is altogether new,” said Gay, her hand uncon- 
sciously resting on her companion’s sleeve. “I have 
never seen it like this.” 

She said little, but her eyes were feasting ; and Strat- 
ford sat and looked at her. Presently he got down and 
opened a gate by the side of the road, and then, mount- 
ing again to his seat, he drove into a field and along a 
narrow way between rows of corn toward a grassy 
acclivity which stood higher than the place at which 
they had first stopped. 

“Where are you going!” asked Gay. 

203 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“To get a view from a different point,” was the 
answer. “I think you will like it.” 

She did like it. She actually rose to her feet with 
a cry of delight. Not far away, and amid the soft 
beauty of the evening landscape, lay a small and 
almost luminous sheet of water, shining like a diamond 
in a rich, dark setting of green banks and overhanging 
pines. 

“A lake ! ” cried Gay. “ A lovely little lake ! I 
never knew there was such a thing in all this coun- 
try ! ” 

“It is not a lake,” said Stratford. “It is nothing 
but our little Cherry Creek, which makes a broad 
bend beneath that bank, and shows no more of itself 
from this point, either coming or going ; but it gives a 
master touch to the scene $ don’t you think so? ” 

“It makes it perfect,” said Gay ; “simply perfect.” 

As she gazed, there came into the mind of Gay some- 
thing she was about to say, but she checked herself. 
She remembered that the most beautiful and peculiar 
views she had seen in this neighborhood had been 
shown to her by Mr. Stratford. She was about to ex- 
press her gratitude in words which should show her 
appreciation of this fact, but there came into her mind 
another recollection with which some feelings of regret 
were mingled. She determined, on the spot, that one 
of the things which it was her duty to do for Mr. Cris- 
man was to induce him to appreciate the loveliness 
which nature has to show us in a country like this. 
He not only ought to like them for himself, but he 
ought to like to see her enjoy them. Of course this 
could not be expected just now, because, as he had 
often told her, it did not matter to him where they 
204 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


walked or what he saw, so that she was with him. It 
was delightful to have Charley think in this way of 
her, but she wanted him to love hills and valleys and 
distant mountains and beautiful skies as much as she 
did. She intended to lead his mind into a true regard 
for these things, and she knew she could do it. 

As they were returning on the highroad, going 
more slowly than when they came, Gay looked at the 
horse and then at the reins in Mr. Stratford’s hands, 
and then she looked at him, and plucked up courage 
to ask, in hesitating words, if he would let her drive a 
little. 

“Of course,” said Stratford, handing the reins to 
her ; “do you like driving? ” 

“I have scarcely ever tried it,” exclaimed Gay, 
“but I know I should like it above all things. I used 
to ride sometimes with the other girls when I was at 
college, but I believe I should like driving better.” 

“It depends upon the horse and the country you 
are in,” replied Stratford. “You must draw the reins 
a little tighter. Let me show you how to hold them.” 

Gay’s ideas of driving were exceedingly crude, but 
she was a girl of quick observation, and her little 
hands grasped the reins in exactly the manner which 
Mr. Stratford, by word or touch, now indicated. The 
horse gave his head an approving nod or two as he felt 
the tightening pressure on his bit, and stepped out 
well, and the spirit and the life of him seemed to 
come through the long leathern lines into Gay’s hands, 
and her face was flushed with a new-born pleasure. 

“I feel,” she cried, as they rolled along, “exactly as 
if I were doing it all myself.” 

Stratford laughed, and showed her how to do it 
205 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


better, warning her in good time, before she reached 
them, of awkward ruts or obtruding stones. Some of 
these she hit and some she missed ; but within her 
glowed and sparkled the pleasure of the driving, until, 
with a wholly unnecessary “ Whoa ! ” she drew up at 
Mrs. Justin’s gate. 

“I ought to be ashamed to admit it,” she exclaimed 
when, her hands in those of Stratford, she had sprung 
to the ground, “but I really believe that driving your 
horse was a greater delight than looking at those 
lovely views. That ought not to be, but it is.” 

The next day Mr. Stratford came to Mrs. Justin’s 
house to dinner, and his hostess found herself doing 
something which she had never done before. She was 
watching her guests, particularly Mr. Crisman. She 
was curious to know what he would think if Gray 
should be as glad to see Mr. Stratford as she had been 
the day before. There was no reason to expect such 
strong demonstrations of delight, and none such oc- 
curred ; but there was a show of hearty good-fellow- 
ship, as Stratford and the young lady shook each 
other by the hand, which produced an impression 
upon Mr. Crisman. It was plain to Mrs. Justin that 
he was surprised to see it. 

In her observations of Stratford the lady of the 
house hoped to perceive that what she had said in her 
letter had had its due effect upon him, and, although 
he might not be willing to acknowledge that he had 
made a mistake, that he would show by his conduct— 
and Mrs. Justin felt quite able to read her friend’s con- 
victions through his conduct— that he had abandoned 
the mad plan he had proposed to himself. 

But she saw no evidence of any such determination. 

206 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


In fact, Mr. Stratford’s conduct gave her more concern 
than it had ever done before. On previous occasions, 
when he and Crisman had been together at her house, 
Stratford had been very careful not to obtrude him- 
self upon the lovers, acting in unison with his hostess 
to give them every opportunity of enjoying undis- 
turbed the society of each other. But now he seemed 
to treat Gay as a young lady to whom the conversa- 
tion of one man was as pleasant as that of another. 
There was no attempt to interfere with Mr. Crisman’s 
efforts to make himself agreeable to Gay ; but, on the 
other hand, there was no attempt to offer him facili- 
ties for doing so. The conversation, therefore, contin- 
ued to be a general one, even for some time after 
dinner. The talk turning upon foreign cities, a subject 
in which Gay was greatly interested, Stratford opened 
a portfolio of photographs collected by Mrs. Justin in 
an Italian tour, and began to show Gay some of the 
places they had been talking about. 

The soul of the young lady was soon completely 
absorbed in travelling from temple to palace, from 
olive grove to crumbling ruin, in company with one 
who had seen them all, and who made her feel as if she 
were really seeing them herself. While this was going 
on, Mrs. Justin and Crisman continued to converse ; 
but the young man soon became impatient, and, rising, 
began to walk up and down the room, regarding the 
couple at the portfolio with evident disapprobation. 

The two had come up from Naples, had wandered 
through portions of Rome, and were in the courtyard 
of the Palazzo Yecchio in Florence, when the mind of 
Gay became troubled. She was greatly enjoying her- 
self, but there seemed to be something wanting ; and, 
207 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


looking up, she asked Mr. Crisman if he did not wish 
to come and look at these photographs and have Mr. 
Stratford tell him all about them. 

“Th ank you kindly,” said Crisman, “but I don't 
care for photographs. If I can't see the real thing I 
am perfectly willing to let it all go by.” 

Gay made no answer, but her countenance became 
a little troubled, and she began to turn rapidly the 
photographs, merely asking a question here and there. 
Stratford quickly noticed her mood, and the tour by 
photography was soon brought quietly to an end, as if 
they had both grown a little tired of it. Crisman had 
now gone out on the piazza to see what sort of a night 
it was. Gay followed him to assist him in making his 
observations, and Stratford saw no more of the two 
that evening. 

Mrs. Justin felt a little provoked with her friend, 
and somewhat inclined to scold him ; and yet, she said 
to herself, why should she do so ? After asking him 
to come to her house and be the same friend he had 
been before, should she now begin to find fault with 
him for his civilities to her other friends f There was 
really no occasion to reprove him, and she did not ; 
but she continued to feel dissatisfied with him, all the 
same. When he took his leave he perceived a little 
of that dissatisfaction in her manner, but he resolutely 
took no notice of it. He had decided that enough had 
been said between him and Mrs. Justin on the subject 
of Gay and her lover, and of his purpose regarding 
them ; and, so far as it lay in his power, he would 
avoid saying anything more. 

The next morning at breakfast Mr. Crisman allowed 
himself to make some remarks which were decidedly 
208 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


uncomplimentary to Mr. Stratford. He made no at- 
tack upon that gentleman, but he delivered himself of 
some general opinions which were evidently intended 
to include Mr. Stratford in their application. The 
tone and purpose of these remarks were very displeas- 
ing to Mrs. Justin. It was not unnatural, although 
she believed it to be without sufficient reason, that Mr. 
Crisman should feel somewhat annoyed that a man 
should engross for a time the attention of his lady- 
love, but there was no reason whatever why Mr. Strat- 
ford should be so spoken of in the house of his friend. 
Mrs. Justin’s eyes flashed a little, and she was on the 
point of making a sharp reply, but remembering that 
Crisman was also her guest, she restrained herself, and 
found a quick occasion to change the conversation. 
Gay said nothing, but it was easy enough to see that 
she understood the full purport of Crisman’s words. 
She would have been glad to burst out with the vehe- 
ment assertion that if Mr. Crisman intended to include 
Mr. Stratford among the people he was talking about, 
he had made a great mistake. But her woman’s sense 
taught her that it would be unwise in her to under- 
take the defence of Stratford against her lover. She 
felt it was cowardly to remain silent, but she did so, 
hoping, however, most earnestly, that Mrs. Justin 
would speak. 

Mrs. Justin did speak. Crisman would not allow 
the conversation to remain changed, and made an- 
other unpleasant allusion to Stratford, more pointed 
than anything he had said before. This was too much 
for the hostess to endure, even from a guest, and in a 
few words, a little more prompt in delivery than she 
intended them to be, she assured Mr. Crisman that 
209 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


she knew many persons who were extremely willing 
to impart their information, and very quick to see 
where such information would he of advantage, but 
who were neither vain of their knowledge, nor used it 
as a means of insolently showing their superiority to 
other people. As an instance of such persons she 
mentioned Mr. Stratford. 

Gray was delighted with this reply, and looked her 
thanks to Mrs. Justin. The latter noticed them, but 
received them with slight satisfaction. She was de- 
fending her friend for her own sake, not for Gay 7 s. 

Crisman smiled. His shot had hit, and the hit had 
been acknowledged. He was satisfied, and, after 
remarking that it was all right to stand up for one’s 
friends, and that he did not intend to pitch into any- 
body, he changed the conversation of his own accord, 
and bore, during the rest of the meal, the greater part 
of it himself. 

All that afternoon Mr. Stratford was expected by 
Mrs. Justin and Gay. They hoped he would come, 
not only because they were always glad to see him, 
but because they felt that, in a manner, he owed it to 
himself not to keep in the background when his char- 
acter had been assailed. To be sure, he did not know 
that anything had been said against him, but Mrs. 
Justin and Gay knew it, and that was sufficient reason 
for them to think he should come forward and show 
himself. But, on the other hand, they both feared his 
coming. For every reason they greatly desired peace, 
and they had some cause to suppose that if Mr. Cris- 
man and Stratford were in the house together that 
day there might not be peace. This was a very un- 
pleasant thought to think; and Gay, on her part, 
210 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


assured herself that there was not the least reason in 
the world for thinking it ; and yet, being a young per- 
son with a sensitiveness of perception which she was 
not yet capable of appreciating, she thought it all the 
same. As for Mr. Crisman, he intended, if that very 
superior gentleman from the Bullripple farm made 
his appearance at Mrs. Justin’s house that day, to give 
him a cold shoulder, and, if necessary, a sharp elbow. 
But Mr. Stratford did not come, and although the day 
proved to be rather a dull one, it was a very placid 
one. 

That afternoon Mr. Stratford took a walk by him- 
self over the fields and hills. He had intended going 
to Mrs. Justin’s, but he, too, had quick perceptions, 
and, while he had no idea of relinquishing his pur- 
poses, he would not intentionally do anything that 
might disturb the harmony of Mrs. Justin’s home, and 
he had believed, when on the evening before he had 
seen Crisman walk restlessly up and down the room, 
that harmony might easily be disturbed. 

Over the fields, that afternoon, also walked Miss 
Matilda Stull. When she saw from afar a gentleman 
crossing the same field, she recognized immediately 
that this was the Mr. Stratford who lived at the 
Bullripple farm. Then said Matilda to herself : “How 
I do wish that he had lived here when I was a little 
girl playing about these fields ; that his uncle had 
owned a wicked bull ; and that I knew him well 
enough to stop and talk about it. Of course I don’t 
wish that I had met him at a restaurant where I paid 
him money for my luncheon, but it would be ever so 
nice if I had made his acquaintance at some suitable 
place, and could now stop and talk to him about old 
211 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


times. And if he would walk with me, and show me 
the way, and let down the bars for me— that would be 
another sort of thing altogether ! ” 

As Mr. Stratford passed, he raised his hat, and Miss 
Stull slightly bowed. She knew that when gentlemen 
and ladies met each other in these out-of-the-way 
places it was quite proper that they should recognize 
each other’s presence. And now Miss Stull walked 
on with a quick step. It was only the afternoon be- 
fore that, standing in a little shop, she had seen Mrs. 
Justin and Gay drive through the village on their way 
to the station, where they were going to meet Mr. 
Crisman. And now she had encountered face to face 
that gentleman who had excited her interest when 
refreshing herself under the Bullripple oak. 

“It is perfectly ridiculous,” she said to herself, “that 
all these people should be in this neighborhood, and 
I not know them. Hone of them have called, but I 
suppose they haven’t the slightest idea we are here. 
Mother doesn’t want to know anybody, and is glad to 
shut herself up. If father were here it would be differ- 
ent ; but I am not going to wait for him. They have 
got to call on us, and I shall make it my business to 
see that they do it.” 


212 


CHAPTER XVII 


Mb. Stull did not go into the country with his fam- 
ily, for it was necessary for him to remain some time 
longer in the city, in order to give attention to several 
branches of his varied business which had been neg- 
lected when his mind and time had been so greatly 
occupied by the disturbances at Vatoldi’s. But this 
occasioned no delay in the opening of his operations 
against the peace and welfare of Enoch Bullripple. 

He had no intention of doing anything in his proper 
person, and his presence was not at all necessary at 
the scene of action. Without allowing his motives to 
make any appearance whatever, he had engaged a 
competent agent to investigate the title-deeds and 
original surveys of the Bullripple farm ; and he had 
found, as he had expected to find, that not only was the 
old man’s tenure of his property a very uncertain one, 
having depended for its endurance principally upon 
the fact that no one had ever cared to investigate its 
validity, but that there was an equal doubt of legal 
ownership in regard to the farm which he himself had 
acquired from Mrs. People. Mr. Stull had reason to 
suspect this when he bought up the mortgages which 
eventually gave him possession of the farm, but the 
213 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


property came to him so easily he was willing to take 
the risks in regard to the title. Now, it would serve 
his purpose very well if, when the time came to push 
Enoch Bullripple to the wall, the old man could also 
see that Mr. Stull was being pushed. That would 
make it impossible for Enoch or his nephew to sup- 
pose that he had anything to do with the matter. 

But Mr. Stull was an excellent manager and a 
shrewd business man, and he did not propose that the 
pushing he might receive should hurt him in the least. 
His present action was not entirely based on his desire 
to retaliate on the old farmer for the insults and in- 
juries the latter had heaped upon him. If things 
should turn out as he expected, there was reason to 
hope that there would be much profit for him in his 
proposed transactions. The lands in question were 
not worth very much, looked upon from an agricul- 
tural point of view, but it was possible that they 
might otherwise be very valuable. Iron ore in pay- 
ing quantities had been found in various parts of this 
region ; and Mr. Stull’s observations had led him to 
believe that the rolling country about Cherry Bridge 
was as likely to contain iron as any of the places 
where it had already been found. It would please 
him very well to form a company and put up a smelt- 
ing furnace on some spot convenient to the railroad ; 
but before he did this he would like to become the 
owner of as much valuable mineral land in the vicin- 
ity as he could lay his hand upon. If there should be 
iron on his own farm, he would be very willing to 
give up his present hold upon it in order to acquire 
another hold which should be firm and secure $ and if 
the Bullripple property should contain the desirable 
214 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


metal, he would most certainly buy up that property 
if it were forced into the market. 

The agent selected to conduct these investigations 
was exceedingly well adapted to the work ; and, had he 
not undertaken it, it is doubtful if Mr. Stull could have 
found any one to whom he would have been willing 
to intrust it. This individual was Mr. Zenas Turby, 
who lived in the county town not far from Cherry 
Bridge, where he engaged in a variety of vocations, 
most of which had some connection with the law. He 
collected debts, and took up any odds or ends of legal 
business which could be attended to by one who was 
not an actual lawyer. In the course of a long and in- 
trusive life he had picked up a great deal of informa- 
tion, legal and otherwise, which frequently caused him 
to shine in the light of a useful man. There was one 
piece of business which most of his neighbors would 
have been very glad to see him engaged in, and that 
was an early attendance at his own funeral. But Mr. 
Turby had declined for many years to gratify this 
popular desire, and, although now over sixty, was so 
hale and hearty that the prevailing hope in his direc- 
tion seemed likely to be much deferred. 

Among his other accomplishments, Mr. Turby was 
skilled in the search for iron ore, and this helped in a 
great degree to make him unpopular. The farmers in 
this part of the country had no desire to profit by the 
discovery of ore on their property. The profit they 
received from the culture of the surface of their fields 
was as satisfactory to them as it had been to their 
fathers, and they did not wish to dig and blast into 
the bowels of their farms in the pursuit of what might 
or might not be concealed therein. There were a few 
215 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


who had been shown the errors of this conservatism, 
but the greater part of them still asserted that they 
wanted nobody prowling and prying around their 
farms looking for iron. Even if it should be found, 
there was at present no furnace in the neighborhood, 
and, consequently, no immediate demand for the ore ; 
and, more than that, they were unable to rid their 
minds of their old-fashioned prejudices against allow- 
ing other men to come and work upon their lands. 

Mr. Turby was very well pleased to take up this 
piece of business for Mr. Stull. There was gain in it, 
and, besides, all the fighting that would have to be 
done would be against Enoch Bullripple, and Turby 
liked that. For many years, and in various ways, 
these two had been pitted against each other, when- 
ever occasion could be found for such pitting. What- 
ever one believed in politics, religion, or in regard to 
almost anything else, was doubted or denied by the 
other, and the fact that they were the two sharpest 
old fellows in that county was reason enough for their 
being very sharp against each other. 

Hitherto Enoch had generally got the better of 
Zenas Turby, and the latter, therefore, was very zeal- 
ous in an affair which might give him the upper hand 
—and a very hard and horny upper hand— of a man 
who had not failed to get him down whenever it had 
been possible. 

The investigations regarding the title-deeds and 
surveys of the estates in question had been carried on 
at the county town, and Mr. Turby having made a 
satisfactory report upon these, it now remained to look 
into the iron branch of the business before Mr. Stull 
definitely determined how he would proceed in the 
216 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


affair. This made it necessary for Zenas Turby to visit 
the village of Cherry Bridge $ and to Cherry Bridge 
he came. 

It was on a rainy morning that Mr. Bull ripple, 
mounted on a gray horse which would have been 
ploughing in the corn-field had the weather been fair, 
rode up to the village house of entertainment, and 
tied his horse under a shed. There were several men 
sitting in a large covered porch in front of the house, 
but the first person Enoch saw was Zenas Turby. It 
cannot be said that in the mind of either of these men 
there ever arose a desire for social converse with the 
other, and yet, whenever they happened to meet, each 
experienced certain snappy emotions which were not 
unpleasurable. 

“You here, Zenas Turby?” said Enoch, as he took 
his seat in the one vacant wooden arm-chair. “Haven’t 
seen you in Cherry Bridge for a good while. I thought, 
perhaps, that sulky of yourn had broke down at last 
from your havin’ forgot yourself and taken somebody 
in with you.” 

As he said this Mr. Bullripple smiled and looked 
around at the other men sitting in wooden arm-chairs, 
most of whom, being his neighbors, returned him an 
answering grimace of approbation of the little thrust 
he had given Zenas Turby. 

The latter did not smile. He was a strong, heavily 
built man. His face was smooth-shaven, and the 
little hair he had on his head was curly and of a red- 
dish, sandy hue which made it difficult to perceive 
whether it was turning gray or not. He wore a long 
black coat, and the rest of his clothes and his hat were 
black, and he carried a stout cane with a long curved 
217 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


handle, well polished by the use of many years. He 
did not need this cane, but always took it with him 
when he drove. On such occasions he used it as a 
prodder with which to remind his horse that time is 
money j and when walking he carried it as a symbol 
of authority and a punctuator of his remarks. Now 
he gave a tap upon the floor which might indicate 
the opening of a paragraph, and fixing his sharp blue 
eyes upon his old antagonist, he said : “It’s all very 
well for you, Enoch Bullripple, to keep on talking 
about my sulky, for I expect there’s been many a 
time when you’ve wished it held two instead of one, 
so that you might get a chance of using some other 
person’s horse-flesh instead of your own ; but I’ve lived 
long enough to know it’s a sight better for a man 
that’s got business to attend to to drive about in some- 
thin' that will* hold himself and nobody else $ so that 
wherever he goes he won’t be asked to give somebody 
a lift who’s too lazy to walk, or too stingy to keep a 
horse. My sulky carries me about all right, but it 
won’t carry nobody eke, and this suits me very well, 
even if it does sometimes come hard on you, Enoch 
Bullripple.” And the big cane came down on the 
floor, marking a period apparently very satisfactory 
to the speaker. 

Mr. Bullripple grinned. “There’s no man in thk 
county,” said he, “outside of a lunatic asylum that 
would see you driving by with an empty four-seated 
wagon and ask for a lift in it if he didn’t have enough 
money in his pocket to pay you a little more than 
common stage-fare. And I shouldn’t wonder if the 
reason you stick to a sulky k to keep yourself from 
the temptation of stagin’ without a license.” 

218 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


At this two or three of the company laughed, and 
Mr. Turby frowned. But Enoch, not caring for any 
reply to this remark, continued to speak. 

“But what brought you up here, anyway, Zenas?” 
he said. “’Tain’t the time o’ year for collectin’ bills. 
Did you come to look for iron? I’ve heard you’ve 
been goin’ into that business.” 

Now, nothing could have angered Mr. Turby more 
than this remark. Sneers in regard to his narrowness 
of disposition were not new to him, but he flattered 
himself that he always succeeded in keeping his busi- 
ness a secret until he chose to divulge it. But here, 
at the very first question, Enoch had hit upon the 
object of his visit to Cherry Bridge. 

“ Whether it’s iron or gold or paper money, it’s 
none of your business, Enoch Bullripple. That is to 
say—” But here he checked himself. He wished to 
make it very much the business of the other, but that 
was a matter which must not now be touched upon. 
“All that I’ve got to say about iron is just this : that 
there never was a bigger fool than the man who’d go 
on ploughin’ and workin’ his stony old fields, and not 
get enough in any year to pay his honest debts, when 
all he has to do is to say the word and have a com- 
pany dig iron out of his hills— and not hurt his fields 
and pastures, nuther— and pay him fifty cents for 
every load of ore took out. But there are fools of 
that kind, and plenty of ’em, who might live in com- 
fort and send their children to school, if they only 
had sense enough to let other people come and get out 
of their farms the only thing worth gettin’ out of 
’em.” 

“It’s one thing,” said Enoch, “to own land with 
219 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


minerals in it, and to go to work and get them minerals 
and make money on ’em. But it’s altogether another 
thing to have a man come that p’r’aps don’t know no 
more about it than that p’inter-dog, and dig here, 
there, and anywhere on your farm, and then go off 
and say that there ain’t iron enough on it to make a 
horse-shoe, and so spile your chance of sellin’ a part 
of your land if a company ever did come along that 
wanted to buy it. Nobody wants a fellow huntin’ for 
iron on his place who’s got a report to sell to the 
highest bidder.” 

This was a hard hit, because a story had once been 
told that a farmer in the neighborhood of the county 
town had been urged by Mr. Turby to employ him to 
make a report on the mineral value of his lands, 
offering as a reason that it would be much better for 
the owner of a farm if the investigating agent had his 
interests at heart instead of those of the would-be 
purchaser. As the country people of that region had 
an old-fashioned idea that a report should be a simple 
statement of facts without reference to the interests 
of any particular employer, this story thickened the 
cloud that for a long time had shaded Mr. Turby. 

Zenas frowned and looked steadily at the floor. “I 
shouldn’t think,” said he, speaking slowly but very 
forcibly, “that a man that goes off on some sort of a 
shindy in the very busiest part of the year, and leaves 
his farm to take care of itself, and go to rack and ruin 
fur all he knows, ought to have anything to say about 
what industrious forehanded people choose to do 
with their lands.” 

“A part of what you say, Zenas Turby,” answered 
Mr. Bullripple, “is exactly right, and that is that you 
220 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


shouldn’t think. Thinkin’ is a business that you ain’t 
suited for. There’s a good many kinds of work that 
you can do first-rate, but you ought to get somebody 
else to do your thinkin’. You was just right when 
you said you shouldn’t think.” 

At this there was a burst of laughter from the men 
in wooden arm-chairs, and Mr. Turby rose to his feet 
to make an angry reply. But he was not so quick of 
speech as was Enoch, and the moment the laughter 
ceased, the latter, also rising, got in ahead of his 
antagonist, and remarked : “I haven’t got no time to 
stay here any longer palaverin’ about iron lands. 
But I’ll just say this, Zenas Turby : that it’s a mighty 
good thing when a farmer gets his place in such a 
condition that when he wants to go away for a while 
to attend to some other business, it can run itself.” 


221 


CHAPTER XVIII 


Miss Matilda Stull was very well aware that in 
her endeavors to get into the Cherry Bridge society 
she need not depend in the least on her mother. 
That lady was too glad to get away from the irksome 
and often embarrassing social demands of the city to 
wish now for society of any kind. Usually spending 
the summer at some fashionable watering-place, the 
quiet of this mountain farm-house gave her a sense of 
delightful repose she had not known for years, and 
she was entirely satisfied with the protracted absence 
of her husband, who, if he had been upon the scene, 
would most probably have insisted, as he always 
insisted elsewhere, that she should push to the front of 
whatever society she might find about her and make 
herself clearly visible as the wife of J. Weatherby 
Stull. 

But the eldest daughter of the house felt that she 
was quite able to further her own interests in this 
matter, and, with this view, she set out on a walk to 
see Mrs. People. When her father should return she 
knew that she would be obliged to take the horses 
and the carriage when she wanted to go about the 
country, but now it suited her purpose much better 
to walk. It was easier to meet people, and perhaps 
222 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


to stop and talk with them, when walking than in 
driving in the carriage. She looked upon Mrs. People 
as the only present thread of connection between her- 
self and the Cherry Bridge gentry, and it was her 
intention to make that good woman understand that 
it was her duty to impress upon the mind of Mrs. 
Justin the importance of an early call upon the ladies 
of the Stull family, people of high position who had 
recently arrived in the neighborhood. She did not 
attempt to deceive herself with the notion that anx- 
iety to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Justin was at 
the bottom of her intended action, but she freely 
admitted to her own consciousness that through that 
lady the acquaintance of gentlemen, often a most 
necessary adjunct in the enjoyment of country life, 
would probably be made. 

She was yet some little distance from the Bullripple 
house when she met John People, who was coming 
toward her on the narrow path through the grass at 
the side of the road. John was in his shirt-sleeves ; 
he wore a broad straw hat, and on his shoulder he 
carried a hay-rake. His portly and upright figure 
appeared so well in this rural guise that Miss Stull 
could not help wishing for a moment that he were a 
gentleman disporting himself thus for his own pleas- 
ure, instead of being the son of that fat Mrs. People, 
taking a holiday from his restaurant, and working on 
the farm. Had she expected no other opportunities 
of male society during her country sojourn, Miss 
Matilda would have been willing to ramble over the 
woods and fields with the sturdy John; but as she 
had a lively hope of doing something better in this 
line, she now looked upon him only in the light of a 
223 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

possible stepping-stone to some advantageous foot- 
hold. 

“Good morning, Mr. People,” she said, “isn’t this a 
beautiful day?” 

John returned the salutation, and, taking off his 
hat, exposed to view his short yellow locks, as 
smoothly and evenly brushed as Miss Stull had ever 
seen them at Vatoldi’s. 

“Are you going to work in the fields?” she said 
presently, as the two stopped. 

“I was going,” said John, with an emphasis upon 
the “was” intending to indicate that such should not 
be his present purpose if Miss Matilda gave him an 
opportunity of remaining in her society. 

Miss Matilda understood the intonation perfectly, 
and she hesitated for a moment before she spoke. If 
the mother should happen to be away it might be a 
good thing to take a walk with the son ; and if she 
could derive no other advantage from the ramble, she 
felt that she could obtain from John some additional 
information in regard to the persons whose acquaint- 
ance she desired. 

“Is Mrs. People at home,” she said, “and disen- 
gaged?” 

“Oh, yes,” said John, “and she will be very glad to 
see you. There’s a lady in the house now, but I don’t 
think she intends to stay very long.” 

“Who is it? ” asked Miss Stull, quickly. 

“It is Miss Armatt, the young lady who is staying 
with Mrs. Justin.” 

“Oh, indeed ! ” said Miss Matilda. “I think I’ll go 
in and make a little call on your mother. Good 
morning.” 


224 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


John stepped aside to let her pass, and over his face 
there came a shadow of disappointment. He did not 
know exactly what he had expected, but, whatever it 
might have been, he was not going to get it, and he 
could not prevent the shadow. 

“Won’t you walk with me as far as the gate?” 
asked Miss Matilda, with a smile. “I don’t always 
understand the opening of these big gates.” 

She was not a workman who dropped her chisel 
and saw into the dust and chips whenever she did not 
happen to be using them. 

When, with another smile, she parted from John at 
the gate, she stepped very quickly toward the house. 
Miss Armatt’s presence there was a rare piece of good 
fortune, and she was very anxious to arrive before 
that lady left. 

Gray had walked over across the fields on an errand 
for Mrs. Justin, who was very glad to give her young 
friend an object for her morning walk, and thereby 
secure for herself the uninterrupted company of Mr. 
Stratford, who had come, by appointment, to assist 
her in the auditing of some complicated accounts of 
the association of which they both were members. 

Mrs. People was about half through one of her long 
statements of facts when Miss Stull appeared, and she 
and Miss Armatt were made acquainted. 

The visit of the two young ladies proved to be 
quite a long one, for Mrs. People was very anxious to 
talk. Miss Gay did not wish to leave until she had 
fully attended to her errand, and Miss Matilda did 
her best to make herself agreeable without regard to 
the passage of time. When, at last, Gay had said 
that she positively must go, and her business had been 
225 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


promptly brought to a conclusion, Miss Stull dis- 
covered that she would not be going out of her way 
if she should walk over a field or two with her new- 
made acquaintance, and so they set out together. 

Mrs. Justin and Stratford, having finished their 
business, were standing together on the piazza, when 
the former exclaimed : 

“ Who’s that coming over the field with Gay?” 

Stratford looked steadfastly, but at first he was 
unable to answer. Presently, however, he recognized 
the young lady whom he had seen at the Bullripple 
farm, and in regard to whom he had made inquiries 
of Mrs. People. 

a Tliat,” said he, “is a daughter of J. Weatherby 
Stull. His family are at present at his farm. But it 
seems rather odd that Miss Armatt should be ac- 
quainted with his daughter.” 

Mrs. Justin had never heard anything of J. Wea- 
therby Stull that she liked. It was during the life- 
time of her husband that Stull had acquired his pres- 
ent possessions in the neighborhood, and Mr. Justin had 
been very indignant at the relentless manner in which 
Mrs. People had been driven from her home. Even 
if she had not looked upon the opinions of her hus- 
band as a guide for her own judgments, Mrs. Justin 
would have despised the things that Mr. Stull had 
done, and would have despised the man who did 
them. He had lived very little on his farm after it 
had come into his possession, and, while there, it had 
never entered into the mind of Mrs. Justin that it was 
possible for her to call upon his family. She had 
heard that they had again come into the neighbor- 
hood, but, although much of her old resentment at 
226 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


the man’s actions had faded away, she did not consider 
the Stulls as people with whom she had the least con- 
cern, and had almost forgotten that she had been told 
of their coming. 

Mrs. Justin looked gravely at the two young women, 
who had now stopped and appeared to be talking 
quite earnestly. “I don’t understand it,” she said ; 
“Gay never mentioned the Stulls to me, and that 
does not look like a recent acquaintanceship. They 
are evidently taking leave of each other, and yet it 
seems impossible for them to tear themselves apart.” 

This difficult deed was, however, accomplished, and 
while Miss Matilda turned back and took her way 
across the fields, Gay came hurrying homeward. She 
threw herself into a piazza chair and made her report, 
and it was plain enough to her hearers that she had 
been very favorably impressed by Miss Stull. 

“She’s a very nice girl,” she said, “and as friendly 
as she can be. She intended to walk only a little way 
with me, but we had so much to say that we got 
almost here before we knew it. I wanted her to 
come in and rest herself, but this she would not do, 
for she seems to be very particular about such things, 
and said it would not be proper for her to come here 
before any of this family had called upon her mother 
and herself. I suppose we ought to call on them as 
soon as we can,” she continued, turning to Mrs. Justin. 
“I should think they would be very pleasant neigh- 
bors. And what I particularly like about Miss Stull 
is that she seems so much fonder of this country than 
of the fashionable places she is in the habit of going 
to.” 

Mrs. Justin did not immediately answer. She had 
227 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


an instinctive aversion toward anything that bore the 
name of Stull, but her conscience would not allow 
her to believe that the sins of a husband and father 
should be visited upon a wife and daughter, and she 
could readily understand that it would be a severe 
punishment to ladies accustomed to society to find 
themselves in a country place where their few neigh- 
bors would not associate with them. But it is possible 
that even these conscientious and kindly feelings 
would not have been sufficient to urge her to an 
early movement in the direction of her social duties 
to the new-comers had not a fresh motive come to 
their assistance. It was evident that Gay had con- 
ceived a liking for Miss Stull, and it occurred to Mrs. 
Justin that if her young protegee could form a friend- 
ship with one of her own sex and age, it would inter- 
fere very much with that friendship for Mr. Stratford 
about which she found that she still had some fears, 
notwithstanding the fact that she had persuaded her- 
self that Gay’s love for Crisman would be invulner- 
able against all attacks, whether made under the 
guise of friendship or any other sentiment. 

She was glad to find that Mr. Stull was not expected 
to join his family very soon, and that his daughter 
had said that, when he came, he probably would not 
stay long. 

Miss Matilda had heard that there had once been 
unpleasant feelings between her father and the Jus- 
tins, and she was a young woman who generally knew 
what to say and when to say it. 

If, therefore, there was but little chance of having 
anything to do with Mr. Stull, it might be well, so 
reasoned Mrs. Justin, to call upon his wife and 
228 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


daughter ; and if the latter should appear to be the 
extremely pleasant young lady that Gay thought her 
to be, a companionship between the two would prob- 
ably be a desirable thing. Gay’s enthusiasm over 
this new acquaintance was very encouraging to Mrs. 
Justin. “That seems to be her natural disposition,” 
she thought, “in regard to friendships, and it may 
not mean as much as I supposed it did.” 

She therefore determined that she would call on 
the Stulls. But when this decision was announced to 
Mr. Stratford he gave it a cold approval. It was 
well enough, he remarked, to be courteous to new- 
comers, but he had always had a great dislike for 
Stull himself, and from the little he had seen of his 
daughter he did not believe that her companionship 
was needed by Miss Armatt. But Mrs. Justin laughed. 
Was he such a judge of the nature of girls that he 
could tell their capabilities and qualities by a glance 
or two * 


229 


CHAPTER XIX 


A few days after the entrance of Miss Matilda 
Stull into the Justin field of view, Mr. Horace Strat- 
ford was driving slowly along one of the by-roads in 
the neighborhood of Cherry Bridge. It was about the 
middle of the afternoon, and he was starting out on 
one of those mountain drives with which he varied 
his fishing and walking experiences. He had allowed 
his horse to fall into a small jog-trot ; for a sensible 
man will not drive fast over the ordinary by-road of 
mountainous neighborhoods when his mind is fixed 
upon a subject entirely unrelated to roads and driv- 
ing. 

Mr. Stratford’s mind was intently fixed upon the 
subject of his plans and purposes regarding the future 
welfare of Miss Gay Armatt. His desire to promote 
this welfare was as strong as ever, and his belief in 
the justice of his purposes was unshaken, but his 
hopes of their success were not quite so bright as they 
had been. He could not but admit to himself that 
while he had made upon the mind of this young lady 
quite as forcible an impression of the value of worthy 
male companionship as he had expected to make, that 
impression had not produced the result which he had 
hoped from it. Miss Gay, indeed, appeared capable 
230 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


of entertaining, at the same time, a true and earnest 
friendship for one man and a true and earnest love 
for another man. Thus, while he had gained for him- 
self a most charming and sympathetic friend, Mr. 
Crisman still retained a loyal lady-love. Now, while 
Stratford had no objection whatever to making for him- 
self a charming friend, that was not the ultimate 
object of his carefully considered conduct toward Gay 
Armatt. If Mr. Crisman’s hold upon the girl were 
not loosened, it mattered little to her future what 
hold any one else retained upon her. 

“Perhaps,” said Stratford to himself, “Mrs. Justin 
may be right, and the girl, having plighted her word, 
will stand to her promise through good or evil.” 

Now, this blind constancy was a quality of the soul of 
which Stratford did not approve. Adherence to the 
wrong under any circumstances was, in his opinion, 
unworthy of a true man or woman. If, by any means, 
by comparison with other men or by direct study of 
his character, Gay should discover that her lover was 
not the man she would have chosen had she deferred 
her decision until a little more age and a little more 
experience had given her better powers of judgment 
in regard to what a husband should be, then Gay was 
false to herself, and, in a manner, to Crisman also, if 
she married him. 

If Mr. Stratford had been consulted on the subject 
of the young lady’s action after she had arrived at 
this conviction, he would have advised a clear and 
frank statement of her change of views, coupled with 
a proposition that the engagement be set aside by 
mutual consent. He truly believed that if women 
were to do this when they found they had made a 
231 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


mistake in the plighting of their affections, not only 
would they avert a great deal of future unhappiness, 
but they would find the matter much easier than they 
had supposed. The lover might flout and rebel at 
first, but there were ten chances to one that, if the 
engagement had existed for any considerable length 
of time, he would have discovered for himself that 
the cog-wheels of the attachment did not run smoothly 
together, and that he would be willing to separate 
them before they had become worn or injured. It 
often happens that it is easier for an inferior man to 
sever his attachment to a superior woman than it is 
for her to disengage her affections from him. The 
material of the attachment in the first instance is of 
poorer quality. 

But as Stratford was a sensible man, as has before 
been said, he did not expect any such severe moral 
action on the part of Gay Armatt. He had hoped no 
more than that she might gradually grow away from 
Crisman, and Crisman, consequently, dropping away 
from her, the engagement would come to an end 
without any particular effort on either side. But, so 
far as he could now see, nothing of this kind seemed 
likely to happen. 

“I have not understood/’ reflected Stratford, “the 
varied powers of sympathetic action which exist in 
the soul of this young girl. I came to her as a friend, 
and she has received me as a friend, whereas with 
Crisman she connects no idea but that of love. Con- 
sequently, she has never made any comparison be- 
tween us. If I wish to make an impression which 
shall be of the slightest use, I must get her to compare 
me with her lover. At first I thought I was about to 
232 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


succeed in tins, but now I have my doubts. She takes 
him for what he is, and me for what I am, and is per- 
fectly satisfied with us both.” 

It may be said here that if Mr. Stratford’s ability 
to read the mind of a young girl had been as great as 
his belief in the obviousness of his superiority to Cris- 
man, he might not have come to this conclusion. He 
was in the not unusual position of a person who 
doubts his ultimate success at the very moment he 
begins to succeed. Gay had already compared her 
lover, and that not favorably, with her friend. 

Mr. Stratford was so absorbed in his important 
cogitations that his horse now fell into a contemplative 
walk, and the two proceeded very slowly. 

“But,” Stratford continued in his converse with 
himself, “I do not wish her to look upon me as a 
lover. In the first place, I am not her lover in the 
least degree. And, again, I should consider it dis- 
honorable and entirely opposed to the spirit of my 
plan even to appear to be her lover. I would like 
her to look upon me as a man who might be some- 
body’s lover, and, in that regard, to compare me with 
Crisman. I would like her to say to herself, ‘If some 
one may have the love of a man like Mr. Stratford, 
who will appreciate her tastes and her aspirations as he 
will appreciate them, who will sympathize with and 
help her as he will sympathize with and help her, 
and who will, in every way, offer her that sufficient 
companionship which he will offer her, why may not 
my lover be such a man V If I can induce her to ask 
herself this question, and then seriously to consider 
whether or not Crisman is that sort of man, I shall be 
perfectly satisfied.” 


233 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Easier were the tasks of tangled skeins and wind- 
driven feathers set by wicked stepmothers to forlorn 
princesses in the olden tales than was the task which 
this man now proposed to himself. And yet, without 
the slightest hope of the assistance of a fairy god- 
mother, he steadfastly set his mind upon it. 

“Upon my word,” exclaimed Stratford, speaking 
out in very decided tones, and drawing up his horse 
to a full stop, “this is exactly like a story in a book ! 
Only it is too improbable.” 

“What do you mean?” asked Gay, who had just 
emerged upon the road from a broad pathway through 
the woods. 

“I mean,” said Stratford, “that I am busily think- 
ing of you when you suddenly appear in the most 
unexpected manner and in the most unexpected 
place.” 

“The place and the manner are simple enough,” 
she said. “Mrs. Justin has gone to call on the doctor’s 
wife, and after that she will drive over to the railroad 
station to pick up Mr. Crisman, and I thought I 
would kill the time until they came back by going 
out to look for rhododendrons ; but it must be rather 
early for them, for I have found only this one little 
sprig.” 

And she held up a small cluster of the delicately 
tinted pink-and-white blossoms for which she had 
been searching. 

“It is not too early for them,” said Stratford, “but 
you would be likely to find only straggling bushes 
along that pathway. It would be difficult for you to 
go where they are abundant. But why did not you 
visit the doctor’s wife?” 


234 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


He would have been glad to extend the question ; 
but saw no appropriate way of doing so. 

“I don’t care about going to see strangers/’ said 
Gay, “and as we called upon the Stulls two days ago, 
I thought that was enough ceremony for me in one 
week.” 

“If you will allow me,” said Stratford, “I will say, 
that, however much you may desire to escape from 
social boredom, it is not right for you to be wandering 
by yourself in these woods.” 

Gray laughed. “There is nothing in the world to 
hurt me except snakes; and, do you know, I have 
tried hard to see a snake, but never could. And now 
tell me how you came to be thinking about me.” 

“It may have been,” said Stratford, disingenuously, 
“that I had some premonition of your appearance, 
but I don’t believe it. I could not even have imagined 
that you would be wandering in these woods by your- 
self, and, really, Miss Armatt, you ought not to do it. 
But I am delighted to see you, for now I shall ask 
you to take a drive with me. You will come, will 
you not ? ” And as he spoke he stepped down from 
the buggy. 

Gay looked at him with a little smile upon her lips. 
“May I drive?” she said. 

Her expression as she smiled and spoke, with her 
head a little on one side as she looked at him, was 
very youthful and very charming ; for Gay, when she 
slid down the straw-stack, had not, as she supposed, 
left all her girlishness behind her. But Stratford was 
not altogether pleased. He did not wish to teach her 
to drive ; he did not want to appear in the character 
of a tutor of any kind. But he answered promptly : 

235 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Certainly yon shall do as you choose— drive or he 
driven. All that I ask is the pleasure of your com- 
pany.” 

“How easily pleased!” said Gay. And almost 
before he could touch her arm to assist her, she had 
stepped into the buggy. 

“Ho,” said Stratford, “you must not sit there. You 
must sit on the right side. If you drive you must do 
it properly.” 

“That will be delightful,” said Gay, quickly chang- 
ing her seat. “I do so like to do things in a regular 
way.” 

It did not altogether satisfy Stratford that Gay’s 
pleasure in the mere act of driving seemed to exclude 
every other motive for wishing to accompany him. 
But he put the reins into her hands, adjusting them 
with much care, and made her also hold the whip. 

“In difficult driving,” he said, “you should have 
the whip in your hand, in order that you may touch 
your horse if he hesitates.” 

“Is this to be difficult driving? ” asked Gay. 

“Yes,” he said. “These rough country roads de- 
mand constant care and prudence, or you might find 
yourself in trouble.” 

“Oh, I like that ! ” said Gay, settling herself squarely 
in her seat, “and I am going to be awfully particular. 
Will you jump in? ” 

“Before I do so,” said Stratford, “I must ask you 
to turn your horse to the right and separate the 
wheels on this side. As you are the driver, that is 
part of your duty to your companion.” 

Gay laughed as she turned the horse rather more 
than was necessary on one side. “This is simply per- 
236 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


feet ! ” she exclaimed. “I feel as if I were managing 
everything. Are you quite comfortable, sir?” she 
added, when Stratford had taken his seat. 

“Go on,” he said, laughing, but quickly exclaimed : 
“Not so fast ! You will dash us to pieces against some 
stone or stump.” 

Gay drew in the horse, and then Stratford, in spite 
of his dislike of appearing on this occasion in the role 
of a teacher, proceeded to instruct his companion in 
the art of eluding the rocks, ruts, stumps, and fallen 
branches with which this seldom-used road was fre- 
quently obstructed. She applied herself with much 
earnestness to the difficulties of her task, but Strat- 
ford, desiring to put an end to this soul-absorbing 
occupation, which did not suit his purposes, and must 
eventually tire his companion, directed her to turn 
into a road in the woods which would shortly lead 
into the highway. 

“You should have told me to beware of these 
branches,” he said, as he pushed aside a protruding 
bough. “To be sure, I saw them myself, but it is the 
driver’s place to give warning of such things.” 

“I don’t take much care of you, do I?” said Gay, 
turning around and looking up into his face with a 
glance of laughing kindliness. “I ought to manage 
things so that you would never have the least bit of a 
brush or a bounce. There, now ! ” she cried, as a 
sweeping branch took off her hat, “I was thinking so 
much of you that I forgot myself. Whoa, sir!” 

Stratford jumped out and picked up the hat, and 
when he resumed his seat Guy requested him to put 
it on for her, as her hands were so full. 

“And I am going to ask you,” she said, as Stratford 
237 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


placed the hat on her head, and adjusted, not very 
awkwardly, an elastic band beneath the thick coil of 
hair, “if you will not hold this whip until we get out 
of the woods. It is really too much for me to have to 
attend to the reins, the whip, the stumps, the bushes, 
and you.” 

When they turned into the broad, open road, Gray 
had the pleasure of a mile or two of good, rapid driv- 
ing. During this period of delight they met an open 
carriage, drawn by two horses, driven by a coachman, 
and containing a lady. Gay was so much occupied 
in keeping her horse exactly midway between the 
right-hand side of the road and the left-hand wheels 
of the other vehicle that she could do no more than 
give a little nod as she swiftly passed the carriage. 

Stratford took off his hat, and then remarked to 
Gay that it was a pity Miss Stull had to drive about 
the country by herself. 

“Yes,” said Gray. “Her mother does not care to 
be out of doors, and she does not like to have her 
younger sisters with her. She said she would come 
to take me to drive, and perhaps she is now on her 
way to our house.” 

“Do you wish to turn back? ” said Stratford. 

“Ho, indeed,” she answered. “That was the merest 
supposition of mine. And besides, even if she does 
want me, why should I slight your invitation for one 
from her ? ” And she gave the horse a little touch of 
the whip, of which she had again taken possession. 

Gay’s prompt decision was a very gratifying one, 
but Stratford could not help asking himself if her 
preference for his company was not due, in some 
degree, to the fact that she was driving. 

238 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Presently lie made a proposition. “How should 
you like / 7 said he, “for me to take you on a mountain 
drive ? It will be a novel experience for you . 77 

“I shall like it ever so much , 77 said Gay $ “and if 
you want my seat I am quite ready to give it up, for 
this tight-rein driving has begun to tire my wrists . 77 

“In the work we have before us , 77 said Stratford, “I 
shall certainly want the driver’s seat . 77 

They now stopped at a gate by the side of the road, 
and, Stratford having opened it, Gay drove through, 
and then he took the reins. They passed at a good 
trot along a cart-road which wound through a field of 
young corn, and, leaving this by another gate, they 
emerged upon a wide stretch of grassy hillside, inter- 
spersed with bushes, rocks, and trees. They skirted 
the base of the hill, following a track that gave some 
indications of being a road, and which, by a series of 
gentle ascents, brought them to a forest on the side of 
a line of low mountains. Here Stratford turned into 
a wood road which for some time led them steadily 
upward. At a point with which he seemed very well 
acquainted he turned boldly into the woods, and 
wound in and out among the trees, which here, being 
principally pines, were little encumbered with under- 
brush, until he emerged upon the open mountain-side, 
where could be seen no track of wheel or hoof. 

“You did that splendidly , 77 said Gay. “I can’t imag- 
ine how you dared to drive right in among the trees . 77 

“I have been through that way before, and knew I 
could find a free passage. And now, my lady, I want 
to warn you that we are going to leave everything 
which resembles civilized driving. Do you think you 
will be frightened ? 77 


239 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“I am sure you will not take me into any dangerous 
places,” she said. 

“ There will be no danger whatever,” he answered. 
“I shall go nowhere where I have not driven before ; 
and although we shall pass over a great deal of shelv- 
ing ground, I assure you that we shall not upset.” 

“If you say it is safe, I am perfectly satisfied,” said 
Gay. “Please go on.” 

Stratford now proceeded at a steady walk along a 
slight terrace upon the mountain-side which afforded 
a very good roadway. To the left the vast forest 
stretched upward, while to the right lay a long green 
valley closed on three sides, and utterly wild and 
uninhabited. Very soon they rounded a turn in the 
mountain-side, and here the terrace disappeared. 
The surface of the ground, however, was diversified 
by rounded knobs and horizontal shelves of project- 
ing rock, and the general incline, even in the smoother 
places, was not great. 

Around and over the inequalities of the ground 
Stratford steadily made his way, taking advantage of 
every favoring surface ; but, in spite of his carefulness, 
the buggy sometimes tipped very much to one side. 

“You are sure we can’t upset?” asked Gay. 

“Quite sure,” Stratford replied. “It would be 
extremely difficult to overturn a low-hanging vehicle 
like this, and everything about the buggy and harness 
is strong and intended for rough work.” 

“It is delightfully exciting,” said Gay, “and I don’t 
intend to be afraid. The view is getting better all 
the time.” 

“When we round that next point, just beyond us,” 
said Stratford, “we shall have the view I brought 
240 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


you here to see. It is different from anything else in 
the neighborhood.” 

Having reached the point indicated, Stratford 
stopped, and they looked out on a scene of solemn 
grandeur. Below them was a deep and vast ravine, 
through which a dark river of tree-tops seemed to 
run into the valley they had first seen. Beyond this 
ravine rose a heavily wooded mountain, and to the 
right of that, and back of it, stood other mountain- 
peaks, purpled by the distance. Still farther, tower- 
ing high on the left, its eastern side now dark in 
shadow, stood the loftiest mountain of them all, look- 
ing down upon its lower brethren with a certain stern 
solemnity, while between it and the nearest peak Gay 
could see, far, far away, a line of light-blue mountain 
waves against the sky. For a few moments she sat 
without a word, and then she exclaimed : 

“What magnificence ! I never knew we had such 
mountains near us ! ” 

“They are the same mountains we always have in 
view,” said Stratford, “only we are on a point where 
we can see between their broken lines, and not merely 
look up against them as we generally do.” 

The spot where they had stopped was the most 
available one in the vicinity for a mountain view, 
but the ground was very sloping, and even if they 
had had plenty of time before them, Stratford would 
not have taxed the patience of his horse by requiring 
him to keep a stationary position there very long. 
After devoting some minutes to Gay’s intense enjoy- 
ment of the scene, he told her they must now turn 
round and go back j and as this turning round on the 
mountain-side might excite nervousness in the mind 
241 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


of a lady, he proposed to Gay that she should get out 
of the buggy while he performed this feat. 

“Are you going to stay in? ” she asked. 

“Of course/’ he answered. 

“Then so am I,” said Gay. 

Stratford made no further remark, but, driving 
upon a projecting knoll, he backed the buggy up on 
a shelf of rock behind it, and, turning the horse, drove 
down again to the spot where they had been standing. 
He knew what he was about, and his horse was per- 
fectly trustworthy ; but the knoll was very small, and 
the downward view from the outer border of it was 
likely to give one a good idea of the precipitous. 

Stratford drove a short distance along the mountain- 
side, and then he drew up his horse. “Now,” said he, 
“lam going to give you your choice. We can either 
go back the way we came, which you know is a long 
road, or I can drive down the mountain-side, which 
is not very steep just here, and when we reach the 
valley we shall find a wood road which will lead us to 
that low hill over there. Having crossed that, we 
shall soon find ourselves upon one of Mrs. Justin’s 
farm roads, which will take us directly to the house.” 

“Oh, let us go that way, by all means ! ” said Gay. 
“It must be ever so much nearer, and, after what we 
have done, I am ready for anything.” 

“Very good,” said Stratford; and he began the 
descent of the trackless mountain-side. He did not 
go directly down, but wound along in a serpentine 
way among the rocks, low-growing bushes, and over 
occasional stretches of coarse grass, which would some- 
times have proved difficult of passage had not the 
yielding mould given a sure foothold to the horse. 

242 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Gay was very merry over the varied contingencies of 
this novel drive, although she could not refrain from 
some starts and exclamations when they found them- 
selves going straight down some short, steep incline 
with the horse so far beneath the buggy that there 
seemed to be danger that the vehicle with its occu- 
pants would double over upon the steed. Once when 
the horse, thoroughly well trained in the business of 
holding back, actually sat down on his haunches, Gay 
gave a little cry and seized Stratford by the arm. 

“Oh!” she exclaimed, instantly relinquishing her 
hold, “I must not do that or I shall hinder your driv- 
ing.” 

Stratford was not afraid of any interference with 
his driving, but he was a conscientious man, and 
essayed no unnecessary slopes for the purpose of 
encouraging an intuitive reliance. 

When they reached the valley, and had struck the 
wood road, now almost overgrown, which led through 
a narrow stretch of forest, Gay gave a sigh of relief. 

“I can’t deny,” she said, “that it is a comfort to 
feel that the buggy-wheels and the horse’s feet are on 
a level with each other. But I would not for any- 
thing have missed that mountain drive ! It had more 
of delightful adventure about it than anything that 
ever happened to me. But I would not have allowed 
any other man in the world to drive me where you 
drove me.” 

“And let me say to you,” said Stratford, turning 
toward her, “that I know no other woman than your- 
self whom I could have trusted to be brave enough 
to trust me absolutely and entirely.” 

“I like to hear you say that,” said Gay, with an 
243 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


expression that could not be mistaken for anything 
else than honest earnestness. 

So far, although these two had spent a good part of 
the afternoon together, they had had but little con- 
versation except that which had been called forth by 
the unusual character of the surrounding circum- 
stances, and this condition of things Stratford thought 
had lasted quite long enough. He certainly did not 
regret the circumstances, because theythad pleased Gay, 
and had brought out in a strong light some interesting 
points in her disposition. But now he was glad that 
the rest of their trip would be uneventful. 

“You are pleased, then,” Stratford said, “that I 
think well of you? ” 

“Indeed I am!” exclaimed Gay. “I am a great 
deal more than pleased. Do you know,” she contin- 
ued, “that it seems very strange— in fact, it is abso- 
lutely funny— when I think in what a different way I 
regard you now from that in which I looked upon 
you when I first knew you. I don’t mind telling you 
that I liked you ever so much from the first day. 
Then I used to wish that you were my father, and to 
think that it would be perfectly charming to have 
such a father, entirely forgetting that you did not 
begin to be old enough to be a father to me. After 
that I wished you were my brother. But that did 
not last very long ; for if you analyze the relationship 
of a brother, which I have done, having a very good 
brother who is a professor in a college out West, you 
will find that he is wanting in some of the varied 
qualities of companionship ; at least, that is what I dis- 
cover in my one specimen. How, in you I find no 
want of the kind.” 


244 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Am I to understand,” said Stratford, “that you 
have analyzed my character ? ” 

“Indeed I have,” she replied. “In fact, I have 
done so two or three times.” 

“And what is the result?” he asked. “And in 
what light do you now regard me ? ” 

“The result is,” said Gay, “that it is impossible to 
place you in any class. I tried it and utterly failed. 
So I am going to let you stand all alone, by your- 
self.” 

Whatever of approbation there was in Gay’s words 
or manner, there was nothing to indicate that she 
had ever thought of putting him into that class of 
men who, not being fathers or brothers, might, upon 
occasion, make love. 

“Do you analyze everybody?” he asked. 

“Oh, no, indeed ! ” said Gay, promptly. “Only a 
very few persons— you more than anybody else.” 

“Am I, then, so very difficult to understand?” 

“I do not think you would have been,” said Gay, 
“if I had known you a long time, and had, in a 
manner, grown up with you j but, you see, you came 
upon me so suddenly and swiftly, and I have known 
you so fast, if you understand that, that I had to look 
very closely into the matter in order to comprehend 
it all.” 

“And do you comprehend it?” he asked. 

“I think so,” said Gay. 

“And are you satisfied?” 

“Perfectly,” she answered. 

Stratford was not perfectly satisfied. “I wish,” said 
he, “that I could have been put among those persons 
who do not need to be analyzed.” 

245 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Gay turned upon him suddenly. There was a little 
frown upon her brow, but when she spoke she could 
not help smiling. “You are dreadfully grasping/’ she 
said. “Here I have been putting you up higher and 
higher, on a loftier pedestal every time, and yet you 
are not satisfied.” 

“Pardon me,” said Stratford, “but if you had ever 
analyzed yourself you would not be surprised that I 
am hard to satisfy.” 

“Now I wonder what that means ! ” said Gay. 
“Are you going on developing and changing, so that 
I shall have to analyze you again? ” 

“I hope you will not do it,” he answered quickly, 
“if there is any danger of my being placed on a 
lower pedestal, or perhaps being toppled over alto- 
gether.” 

“Don’t you be afraid of that,” said Gay, involun- 
tarily laying her hand upon his arm. “And I’ll tell 
you one way in which I think of you. I have a feel- 
ing that if you were to ask me to do anything, I 
should instantly go and do it. What do you think of 
that, sir?” 

A thought had come with much promptness to 
Stratford, and he had said to himself that if he could 
thoroughly believe what Gay had said, he would 
impress the seal of happiness and success upon her 
life by instantly demanding that she should give up 
the man who would be to her like a worm at the root 
of all to which her ardent young soul looked forward. 
But he did not believe her, at least to such an extent, 
and he kept this thought to himself. 

“You do me the greatest honor,” he said, “by plac- 
ing such trust in me ; and I wish I could tell you to 
246 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


do something which would make you happy for the 
rest of your days.” 

Gay turned and looked at him with an expression 
of inquiry which seemed somewhat foreign to her face, 
for her desires to know were generally promptly ex- 
pressed in words. But now she said nothing, and, 
turning again from Stratford, sat quietly looking out 
before her. 

They had now crossed the valley and had reached 
the top of the rounded hill upon the other side. The 
day was drawing to a close, and in this exposed posi- 
tion the evening wind came fresh and cool upon 
them. Gay’s dress was thin, and Stratford, without 
remark upon the subject, stooped forward and drew 
from under the seat a light woollen lap-robe which 
had hitherto been unneeded. This he placed around 
Gay’s shoulders, carefully arranging it so as to protect 
her well from the somewhat chilly mountain breeze. 

“ Thank you,” said Gay. And then she went on 
with her thinking. 

Among the many things which came into the mind 
of Stratford on their homeward road was the convic- 
tion that this mountain drive had occupied more time 
than he had expected it would, and that Crisman 
must have arrived at least an hour ago at Mrs. Justin’s 
house. He wondered if Gay was thinking about this, 
but, if so, she certainly manifested no anxiety upon 
the subject. Comfortably wrapped up, with her 
hands folded under her improvised shawl, she nestled 
quietly in her corner of the buggy as if she were per- 
fectly satisfied with everything that was. 


247 


CHAPTER XX 


Miss Matilda Stull, who really was on her way 
to invite Miss Gay Armatt to drive with her, was 
very much surprised when that young lady, in com- 
pany with Mr. Stratford, rapidly passed her on the 
road. She turned quickly, and looked back at them, 
saying to herself : “Is it possible that I have been 
mistaken, and that that is the man she is engaged to ! 
I don’t understand it, for they certainly told me that 
the one I saw in the carriage with Mrs. Justin is 
named Crisman, and that he comes up every Satur- 
day, on account of the engagement. But that doesn’t 
look like it, I must say ! And this is Saturday after- 
noon, too ! ” 

In all matters which pertained to love, engage- 
ments, or marriage, Miss Matilda took a deep and 
abiding interest, and in this affair, so immediately 
within her observation, her interest was greater than 
usual. The apparent complications of it which had 
suddenly arisen in her extremely active mind, which 
needed but very slight impulses to set it working in 
matters of this sort, puzzled her exceedingly. She 
could not bring herself to give up her visit to Mrs. 
Justin’s house, where she might hope to lay hold of 
some clew to this mystery. It was plain that Gay 
248 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


could not drive with her, but she saw no reason why 
she should not return Mrs. Justin’s call, although her 
mother was not with her. That lady was as likely to 
be indisposed one day as another, and she could not 
afford to let the acquaintanceship she desired depend 
upon Mrs. Stull’s dispositions or indispositions. If 
that Mr. Crisman were coming to-day, she knew the 
hour when he should arrive, and determined to plan 
her own drive so as to reach the house when he should 
be there. Mr. Stratford and Gay Armatt would be 
back by that time, and when she saw them all to- 
gether she could judge for herself how matters stood. 

Miss Stull drove about the country for some time, 
and when the proper hour arrived she directed her 
coachman to turn the horses toward the Justin house. 
There she found the lady of the mansion and Mr. 
Crisman seated upon the broad piazza. Mrs. Justin 
received the young lady very cordially, and was on 
the point of stating that Gay had gone for a walk, but 
would certainly be back in a very short time, when 
Miss Matilda remarked that she had supposed she 
might not see Miss Armatt, as she had met her driving 
with Mr. Stratford, but that she had come all the 
same, because this was a call not only from herself 
but from her mother, who was extremely grieved 
that she was not able to make it in person. 

At the intelligence thus conveyed by Miss Matilda 
the soul of Mrs. Justin was smitten by a sudden chill, 
and the face of Mr. Crisman grew stern and dark. 
This gentleman had been annoyed when he reached 
the house and found that Gay was not there to meet 
him, and had been talking to Mrs. Justin about the 
propriety of that young lady keeping her watch 
249 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

properly set and regulated, and carrying it with her 
when she went out for a walk, so that she would 
know when she ought to return to the house. But 
now, when he learned that she had not gone for a 
walk at all, but was out driving with Stratford, his 
mind was a good deal darker than his face. He said 
nothing, but his eyes flashed angrily on Mrs. Justin. 
That lady glanced at him, caught the flash, and knew 
instantly that he believed she had told him a false- 
hood. 

“I did not know,” she said, addressing Miss Stull, 
“that Miss Armatt had gone driving. Mr. Stratford 
must have called for her while I was away, and they 
will doubtless return presently. And, before I forget 
it, Miss Stull, did your mother engage that washer- 
woman I recommended to her? If she does not suit, 
there is another one who might answer, but she lives 
at a greater distance.” 

During the discussion upon washerwomen which 
followed, Mr. Crisman arose, went into the house, and 
began to stalk up and down the parlor. A good deal 
of conversation, mostly on domestic subjects, now took 
place between Mrs. Justin and her visitor, and, to the 
great regret of both, it was not interrupted by the 
arrival of Gay and Mr. Stratford. 

Miss Matilda stayed just as long as it was possible to 
extend her visit ; and this extension was encouraged 
by her hostess, who did not at all wish to be left alone 
with Crisman. Gay had done a very foolish and 
wrong thing in going away on this Saturday afternoon 
with Mr. Stratford, and it was she who should make 
the explanations and bear the reproaches. At last 
Miss Stull felt bound to admit to herself that the 


250 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


evening was coming on rapidly, and that she could 
not with propriety stay any longer, and so departed, 
disappointed. She had seen very little of Mr. Cris- 
man, she had not made the acquaintance of Mr. Strat- 
ford, and she had learned nothing definite in regard 
to the engagement. She had seen enough, however, 
to make her believe that everything was not right, 
and that that young man who was walking so heavily 
about the parlor was very angry. This convinced 
her that he was really the engaged man, but she was 
sorry, very sorry indeed, that the couple in the buggy 
had not arrived before she left. 

The heavens were kind to Mrs. Justin. She had 
not returned to the house after seeing Miss Stull to 
her carriage— and it must be admitted that she did 
not hasten that return— when Stratford and Gray 
drove up over the grass, coming from the back of the 
house. 

The horse had no sooner stopped than Gay inquired 
of Mrs. Justin if Mr. Crisman had arrived, and on 
being told that that gentleman had been there some 
time, and was now in the parlor, she bade Mr. Strat- 
ford a hasty farewell, skipped out of the buggy, and 
hurried into the house. As she hastened past Mrs. 
Justin, that lady felt assured that, although Gay might 
be very anxious to meet her lover, her conscience as 
well as her affection had a good deal to do with the 
exceeding alacrity with which she went into the 
house. 

“I had no idea / 7 said Mrs. Justin to Stratford, “that 
you and Gay were going off to drive this afternoon . 77 

“Nor had I , 77 he answered. “I picked her up on 
the road. We have had a most delightful drive . 77 

251 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“It may prove anything hut delightful to Gay/’ said 
Mrs. Justin. 

Stratford smiled. “I am very sorry/’ he said, “that 
upon this subject you and I should so frequently dif- 
fer, both in our desires and our expectations.” 

“And I am also very, very sorry,” said the lady. 

And then Mr. Stratford drove away at dinner-time 
without being invited to stay to dinner. This unusual 
omission was not due to want of hospitality or to re- 
sentment on Mrs. Justin’s part. That lady did not de- 
sire an awkward situation at her evening meal, and 
Stratford understood her feelings perfectly. 

That dinner was indeed an awkward meal, but not as 
Mrs. Justin had expected it to be. She had looked 
forward to sitting at table with a black-browed and 
scowling lover upon whom the sweetness and kind 
attention of two ladies would make but very faint 
impression. Instead of that, only she and Gay had 
dinner together ; that is to say, they sat at the table 
together, but neither of them ate much. 

When Mr. Stratford had driven away, and Mrs. 
Justin had gone into the house after a stroll among 
the shadows on the lawn sufficiently prolonged to give 
Mr. Crisman time to get over the brunt of his indigna- 
tion, she met Gay on the piazza, and immediately 
asked where Mr. Crisman was. 

“I don’t know,” said Gay, her voice a little shaken 
either by emotion or shortness of breath. “I haven’t 
seen him at all. Jane says he went out of the house 
and down the steps of the back piazza just as Mr. 
Stratford and I drove round to the front, and that 
she thought he went into the garden. I ran out there, 
and have been looking for him everywhere. What 
252 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


do you suppose has become of him? Can it be that 
he is angry with me, and has gone away? 77 

Mrs. Justin turned pale, and her paleness was re- 
flected in the face of Gay. “Come into the library / 7 
said the elder lady. And they went into the darken- 
ing room and sat down together on a lounge. 

Now Mrs. Justin spoke to her young friend more 
plainly than she had ever spoken before. She opened 
her anxious heart to her, and with earnest affection 
explained to the young girl the danger she was in. 
Gay listened with a tear or two, but with no words. 

When Mrs. Justin had finished, Gay asked : “Do 
you think he will come back to-night ? 77 

“I have no doubt of it / 7 said the other. “He has 
probably gone for a long walk, which will cool off his 
anger ; and when he comes back, my dear, it will be 
your duty to see that he has occasion to take no more 
such walks . 77 

Then the two went out to dinner. 

About half-past nine that evening a boy belonging 
to the tavern at Cherry Bridge came to the Justin 
house bringing two letters. One was for Miss Armatt 
and one was for Mrs. Justin, and they were both 
written by Mr. Crisman, who, the boy said, had taken 
supper at the tavern and would stay there that night. 

Gay, who had been reading and waiting and listen- 
ing all the evening, took her letter in her hand, but 
did not open it. The pallor on her face, when instead 
of her lover there came this missive, was not at all of 
the reflected sort. 

“I think I will go up into my room and read it , 77 
she said. And taking a lamp, she went up-stairs. 

Mrs. Justin sent word to the boy that he need not 
253 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


wait for answers, and then she sat and looked at her 
letter a long time before she opened it. She was so 
much averse to a correspondence with Mr. Crisman 
that once she made up her mind to tear up his letter 
and refuse to take part in a very unpleasant quarrel 
which she had earnestly endeavored to avert. But 
she knew that this would not be just, and she could 
not but believe that if she read Mr. Crisman’s letter 
and treated him with courtesy, she might thereby be 
of great service to Gay. 

Having come to this determination, she tore open 
the letter and read ,it. At the opening words her 
face began to redden, and as she went on the crimson 
glow increased. When she finished, the color died 
out of her face, and she leaned back in her chair and 
looked out between the parted curtains of the window 
into the dark night with an expression of sombre 
sternness which was very unusual upon Mrs. Justin’s 
lovely countenance. For a long, long time she sat 
thus ; and it was after twelve o’clock when Gay came 
quietly into the room. 

Mrs. Justin started with surprise. “Why, Gay,” 
she exclaimed, “I did not expect you down-stairs 
again ! ” 

Gay made no answer, but advanced to the table 
with two letters in her hand, one open and the 
other folded and addressed. Her hair was somewhat 
rumpled, as if her fingers had been in it; but her 
dress was unchanged, and she evidently had had no 
thought of retiring. 

“Here is a letter,” said Gay, laying the one which 
was folded and addressed upon the table, “which I 
should like to have sent to Mr. Crisman as early as 
254 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

possible in the morning. I have ended our engage- 
ment.” 

Mrs. Justin rose to her feet, her amazed eyes fixed 
on Gay. 

“My letter is not sealed,” said Gay, “and yon can 
read it if you like. But I think it would be better if 
you read his letter first.” 

Mrs. Justin put out her hand for the letter which 
Crisman had written, and took it as though it were 
something hot which she feared to touch. She looked 
at Gay, and then she looked at the letter. Then she 
read a line or two, and put it down. 

“I cannot, Gay,” she said ; “I cannot read it.” 

It was Gay who had been hard stricken, but her 
nature was young and strong. She bore her blow 
better than Mrs. Justin bore the one she had received. 

“You need not read it,” she said. “It would only 
pain you. I can tell you in a few words what is in 
it. He upbraids me cruelly for what he calls my faith- 
lessness, and, after saying a great deal for which there 
is no cause whatever, he orders me to write him a 
letter asking his forgiveness for what I have done, 
and promising never to do again the things with 
which he has charged me. If I do not write such a 
letter and send it to him immediately, he declares 
that everything shall be at an end between us. In 
my answer I told him that his charges had no founda- 
tion at all, and that I would never write the letter 
he demanded. Did I do right ? ” 

Mrs. Justin’s face was flushed, not only by the words 
which Gay had spoken to her, but by a hot recollec- 
tion of the letter which she herself had received, in 
which Mr. Crisman had indignantly charged her with 
255 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


treachery and falsehood, with having encouraged and 
assisted the attentions of Mr. Stratford during the 
absence of Gay’s rightful lover, and with having made 
him believe that Gay was out walking by herself 
when of course she knew that she was driving with 
that other man. 

Never was there a woman who attached more 
solemn importance to an engagement or promise than 
did Mrs. Justin ; never was there a woman who 
looked with more horror upon the breaking of a com- 
pact upon which two loving hearts had entered ; and 
yet she stretched out her arms to Gay, and, pressing 
the girl to her bosom, she said : “You did right— 
exactly right ! ” 


256 


CHAPTER XXI 

When Mr. Crisman, before breakfast the next morn- 
ing, received Miss Armatt’s letter, its effect upon him 
was to renew the anger which a night’s sleep had 
somewhat sobered down. When he had written to 
her he had formed no conjectures in regard to her 
reception of his letter. He meant all that he had 
written, and his only desire and intent was that Gay 
should thoroughly understand what he meant. He 
had not cared to anticipate what she would do when 
she read it ; but when he found what she had done, a 
most stubborn indignation took possession of him. 
His nature was one which hardened quickly be- 
neath the sun of angry passion, and when this hap- 
pened, neither rain, nor kindly warmth, nor the dews 
of night, nor any blessed breeze, could penetrate its 
crust. 

“Very well,” he said, as he tore up Gay’s letter j 
“she loses more than I do.” And then he went to 
breakfast. 

The only resolve which Mr. Crisman now made was 
to the effect that every one should be made to under- 
stand that his engagement with the Armatt girl was 
broken off, and that he was not in the least crushed 
by the event. He had come prepared to spend a 
257 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


week at Cherry Bridge, having made arrangements 
by which his vacation came earlier in the season than 
usual. He had sent his baggage to the tavern with- 
out saying anything to Mrs. Justin about it, preferring 
first to inform Gay of his intended stay in the neigh- 
borhood, and thus give Mrs. Justin an opportunity of 
inviting him to spend a week at her house. If she 
did not do so, he would stay at the tavern. But 
although he had told no one of his intentions, he 
determined to make no change in them. This was a 
good place to hunt and fish, and he would stay here 
and hunt and fish for a week. Then he would go and 
spend the other week of his vacation in sailing, as he 
had planned. He liked sailing better than anything 
else, but having decided to give up half his holidays 
to the country in which Gay was staying, he would 
not allow her conduct to influence his plans in any 
way. If, in the course of his sojourn here, Gay should 
come to feel that she ought to be ashamed of herself, 
he would then determine what he would do. But 
this was to be entirely her own affair. Hot one step 
would he take to lift her out of the pit into which she 
had deliberately thrown herself. If she chose to climb 
out and come to him— but he stopped here ; he would 
make no promises, and offer no hopes, even in his 
own mind. He was obstinately angry. 

On that Sunday afternoon Mr. Stratford walked 
over to the Justin house. He would have preferred 
not to go, but there were reasons why he thought it 
would be better for him to do so. Mrs. Justin had 
not treated him with her customary cordiality on the 
evening before, and he did not wish to appear to 
resent this by omitting his usual Sunday call. He 
258 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


had reason to believe, if he judged from nothing but 
Mrs. Justin’s words, that he would not find the family- 
atmosphere altogether bright and agreeable, but he 
did not feel himself justified in staying away on that 
account. If he found a storm there, or the signs of 
one, he would know that he was the cause of it, and 
there was no reason why he should shrink from his 
share of the rains and winds. 

He was rounding the foot of an abrupt hill which 
lay on the extreme boundary of the Bullripple farm 
when he suddenly came upon a man who was making 
a shallow excavation in the soil with a small pickaxe. 
It was such an uncommon thing to find any one in 
this part of the country working in the fields on Sun- 
day that Stratford was quite surprised at the sight. 
In a moment, however, he perceived that this was 
not an ordinary laborer, but an elderly man dressed 
in black, who was, apparently, interested in geology. 

“Good afternoon,” said Stratford. 

The man turned suddenly, and his face showed 
plainly that, whatever he might be looking for, it was 
not company. Stratford could not imagine why the 
man should object to being seen digging for specimens 
of rocks, fishworms, or anything else, unless it was 
on account of doing so on Sunday. He took no notice 
of the forbidding expression, and inquired pleasantly 
what there was to be found on this hillside. 

“Nothing,” said the man, dropping his little pick. 
“There’s nothing at all in land like this, either inside 
of it or on top of it. I live in this county, though not 
in this stony part, and I like to know what kind of 
soil we’ve got in one place and another. But this 
land ain’t worth the trouble of scratching it.” 

259 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“It does not appear to me in that light,” said Strat- 
ford. “The pasturage is fair, and the crops in the 
valley lands are very good.” 

“Oh, yes,” said the man. And as he spoke he 
kicked some stones and loose earth into the hole he 
had made. “Some of the land is good enough for 
crops, but there is nothing in it that is really worth 
anything.” 

“I suppose you are alluding to ores,” said Stratford. 
“From what I have observed in sections of the 
country where iron is found, I should think there 
might be ore of that kind here.” 

“Humph!” said the man. “You might dig here 
for ten years, and you wouldn’t find no iron except 
what was worn off your shovels or picks. Good day 
to you.” And taking up his pickaxe and a stout 
grape-vine cane which lay on the ground, the man 
walked away toward the village. 

Stratford continued on his way, but in a few mo- 
ments he stopped and looked back. The man was 
carrying the little pickaxe under his coat. Stratford 
smiled as he went on. “I cannot imagine,” he said 
to himself, “why he should have been so disturbed at 
my seeing him. He could not have been stealing 
anything, for there is nothing here to steal. I am 
afraid that after going to church this morning he 
intended going fishing this afternoon. He chose a 
very poor place, however, in which to look for bait.” 

Stratford was met by Mrs. Justin before he reached 
the house. “I saw you coming over the hill,” she 
said ; “I want to have a little talk with you before 
you go in.” And then, as the two walked down to 
the bank of the creek, she said : “Your work is accom- 
260 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


plished. The engagement between Gay Armatt and 
Mr. Crisman is broken.” 

“What ! ” exclaimed Stratford. And for a moment 
he felt a pang of contrition. He had greatly desired 
to see this engagement broken off, but it was a shock 
to be suddenly told that there had been a rupture, 
and that he had made it. But Mrs. Justin’s next 
words were positively astounding. 

“I would not have told you this so abruptly,” she 
said, “if I had not intended to also say that I am 
very glad that everything is at an end between these 
two.” 

“You doubly amaze me ! ” cried Stratford. “Is it 
possible I have converted you?” 

“Not a bit of it,” promptly answered Mrs. Justin. 
“You were wrong, wrong, absolutely wrong, in what 
you did. You had no more right to come between 
those two than you had to try to come between any 
other man or woman, either engaged or married. It 
so happens that you have done a good thing, but you 
deserve no credit for it. You did not know Mr. Cris- 
man 5 you merely had a prejudice against him, and 
for no reason but this you endeavored to make a girl 
forswear herself.” 

“A strong statement,” remarked Stratford. 

“None too much so,” continued the lady. “I have 
come to believe that what you did has had a most 
excellent result, but, for all that, it was a very wrong 
thing to do $ it was a crime. Now that Mr. Crisman 
is out of the way, everything is free and open to you, 
and, in the course of time, I suppose that you and 
Gay will be married. I have no doubt that you will 
both be very happy, and that neither of you could 
261 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


possibly have made a better match. But, for all that, 
you ought never to look back upon the part you have 
played without sorrow and repentance.” 

“I wish to heaven,” exclaimed Stratford, “that the 
words I have spoken to you about Miss Armatt and 
myself could be believed ! But I suppose this is too 
much to expect, and we need say no more about it. 
If you do not object, I should like to know how this 
thing happened, and what is the present state of 
affairs.” 

“As you are a party very much interested,” said 
Mrs. Justin, “of course you ought to know all about 
it.” And then she went on to tell him what had 
happened. She repeated the substance, as she had 
heard it, of Crisman’s letter to Gay ; told him what 
Gay had written in answer ; and how she had heartily 
supported the girl in her resolution. 

In regard to the letter which she herself had re- 
ceived from Crisman, and which had done more to 
show her the true character of the man than even 
what he had written to Gay, she said but little. If 
she had told what that letter contained she would 
have had good reason to fear that Stratford would 
have thrown the young man into Cherry Creek, or that 
he would have been thrown into that stream himself. 

“I cannot be too glad,” said Mrs. Justin, in con- 
clusion, “that the man, before it was too late, showed 
us his true character, and that he himself made it 
impossible for the engagement to continue. But I 
shall never cease to grieve that my friend chose to 
take the part that he has played in this affair.” 

“Knowing you as I do,” said Stratford, “I am quite 
sure that I like you better for that opinion.” 

262 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


A meeting between the girl whose engagement of 
marriage had suddenly been broken off and the man 
who had been the cause of such fracture must naturally 
be an awkward one, and feeling this very strongly, 
Stratford was not anxious for an immediate interview 
with Gay. If he had known what serious conse- 
quences had followed his mountain ride with Gay he 
would have postponed for a day or two his visit to 
this house. Thoughts of this awkwardness may have 
come into the mind of Mrs. Justin also, but if they 
did she allowed them no weight. 

“Gay is in the house / 7 she said, “and you may as 
well see her at once. You know how the matter 
stands, and it will not be pleasant or wise for any of 
us to put ourselves in stiff or constrained positions . 77 

When Stratford took Gay by the hand and looked 
into her face he saw that she had had a hard blow, 
one that might have crushed her if, at the same time 
that it wounded her, it had not aroused the most 
emboldening sentiments of self-respect and just resent- 
ment. She was not a girl who would parade an afflic- 
tion or misfortune by retiring on account of it from 
the society of her ordinary friends and associates. 
hTor was she one who would care to conceal a 
trouble from those who took an interest in her life 
and happiness. She was aware that Stratford knew 
what had happened, for she had asked Mrs. Justin to 
tell him, and as this was the most important event of 
her life, not even excepting her engagement, she 
could not bring herself to avoid the subject with 
Stratford, whom she believed to be her true friend, 
and whose mind she knew must be occupied with it. 
As he probably understood that their innocent drive 
263 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


had brought about the catastrophe, and as she believed 
that no blame should attach to him, she wished him 
to see that she intended to visit him with no punish- 
ment, negative or positive. She did not know much 
and had never thought much of the way in which 
the world is in the habit of forming its opinions, but 
her good sense and experience were quite sufficient 
to show her what kind of opinion might easily be 
formed in a case like this, where the former lover had 
torn himself away and where the engagement-breaker 
continued in favor,* and she was very desirous that 
that part of the world represented by Stratford should 
not have a mistaken opinion. 

“You know,” she said, as soon as they had taken their 
seats, “that Mr. Crisman and I are no longer engaged ? ” 

“I have heard it,” said Stratford. 

“It was all very sudden and unexpected,” she con- 
tinued. “I have been greatly distressed, and Mrs. 
Justin also, and we are not ourselves at all. But we 
hope our friends will not find fault with us any more 
than we find fault with them.” 

As she said this Stratford looked steadfastly at her, 
but made no answer. 

“I don’t care to talk about this any more than I 
can help,” she continued, “and all that we can do is 
to wait, and hope for the best.” 

“What is the best?” asked Stratford. 

“The best thing that could possibly happen,” said 
Gay, “is for us to find ourselves able to come together 
on our old ground, when everything can be so easily 
explained. Mr. Crisman knows, as every one knows, 
that I always have been, and am now, perfectly loyal 
to him.” 


264 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


This assertion greatly surprised Stratford, and in 
his heart he did not believe it. 

“I do not understand you,” he said. “How can 
you be loyal to him when you have seen fit to break 
your engagement to him ? ” 

“I don’t know that I can exactly explain myself,” 
she said, “but I want to make it understood that 
while I am not willing to be engaged to Mr. Crisman 
so long as he holds the position he has taken, I have 
never turned aside from any of my promises ; and 
when I find him as he was a week ago he will find 
me exactly what I was then. Is that plain?” And 
she looked with anxious inquiry at Stratford. 

“Oh, yes, quite so,” he said to her. But he said to 
himself that Crisman could never be to her the same 
man that he was a week ago. He saw her object : she 
wished to establish the fact that there had been no 
unfaithfulness on her part. 

Here was an opportunity to do a thing which Strat- 
ford considered righteous, honorable, and kind. Here 
was a chance to tell this girl that she had done all 
that the world and her conscience should call upon 
her to do $ that after what had happened, the loyalty 
of which she spoke could be but a thing of principle 
without feeling ; that the reasons which prompted her 
to break off the engagement were just as strong 
reasons why she should never think of it again, and 
that, setting arguments and words aside, she should 
embrace, with all the force of her nature, this oppor- 
tunity of escaping a ruined life. But he said nothing 
of all this. He was a brave man and an able one, but 
he now shrank from the task of doing what he thought 
to be his duty. He did not believe he could give her 
265 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


the counsel he wished to give, and at the same time 
maintain the position he wished to keep. 

“It will he better,” he thought, “that she should 
find out these things for herself, and I am sure she will 
do it. And, besides, she has Mrs. Justin to back 
her.” 

Under the circumstances, the hours could not be 
expected to pass in a cheery way; and, soon after 
dinner, Mrs. Justin and Stratford found themselves 
sitting alone in a very quiet house. 

“I cannot quite understand Miss Armatt’s de- 
meanor,” said he. “If she is deeply grieved at the 
dissolution of her engagement, I should expect more 
evident signs of distress ; and, on the other hand, if 
she is glad of her great deliverance, I think she would 
let that be seen. As it is, it would be very difficult 
to classify her apparent emotions.” 

“I believe,” said Mrs. Justin, “that Gay does not 
thoroughly understand herself. As far as I am able 
to judge, her mind is now occupied in assuring her 
that she has always stood by her promises, and that 
her steadfast fidelity gave her a right to break with a 
man who insisted that she should admit that she was 
not true to her given word.” 

“So long as she reasons,” said Stratford, “the state 
of the case is perfectly satisfactory. But what sur- 
prises me more than anything else is the readiness 
with which you accept the situation. I should have 
supposed that no matter how bitter the quarrel 
between these young people, you would have hoped 
to see them reconciled and the engagement renewed.” 

“I am quite willing to admit,” said she, “that it is 
not at all like me to feel the satisfaction and thank- 
266 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


fulness that I do feel in knowing that Gay is not to 
marry Mr. Crisman. But this is a very unusual case, 
and my conscience fully justifies me.” And then, in 
her mind, she added : “If you could have read Mr. 
Crisman’s letter to me you would not wonder at my 
feelings.” 


267 


CHAPTER XXII 

There was not at this period a more ardent match- 
maker in the country than Mrs. People. For a long 
time she had been much dissatisfied with the condi- 
tion and prospects of her son John. For one thing, 
he was growing up to be an old bachelor, and she was 
opposed, on principle, to old bachelors. To be sure, 
it was a very fortunate thing for her that her brother 
Enoch belonged to this class, for otherwise it is not at 
all probable that she would have been at that time 
the mistress and director of the household $ but the 
principle remained unchanged. Mr. People was not 
much more than twenty-one when he married her ; 
and here was John, who in four short years would be 
thirty, still single. It was plain enough, she thought, 
that he was beginning to be a man of importance in 
his business, for otherwise old Vatoldi would never 
have allowed him to manage his affairs all by himself 
during the late disturbances. His having a vacation, 
too, showed that things were getting to be better 
with him ; and what was next to be expected was an 
increase of salary. Taking all these matters together, 
it was as clear as the light of day, in Mrs. People’s 
mind, that John should lose no time in getting mar- 
ried. 


268 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


And here was Matilda Stull ; and if anybody knew 
of a better match for John than she was, Mrs. People 
would like to see that girl, be she black -haired or 
brown, a foreigner or a native-born American, pro- 
duced at once. It was not only that Miss Stull was a 
very pretty girl, and very well dressed, and one with 
whom John was deeply in love, but there was an 
eminent propriety in marriage between the heir of 
her house and that of Stull, which loomed up in a 
gigantic form in the mind of Mrs. People. If John 
married Matilda, the farm on which he was born 
would, in the course of time, come into his possession ; 
and this, from Mrs. People’s point of view, was the 
most desirable thing that could possibly happen. 

She would sit, in one hand a table-knife with its 
blade half ground away by repeated sharpenings, and 
in the other a partly peeled potato, and muse upon 
the happiness, the absolute felicity, which would be 
hers when the old farm should belong to John. To 
buy back this estate appeared to her a simple impossi- 
bility ; to get it for nothing by means of this marriage 
would be a grand stroke indeed. 

Many were the plans she formed while the potato 
waited to be peeled. She would go and live with 
John, for it was not likely that that city girl knew 
anything about housekeeping or the management of 
a dairy. And yet, as she, Mrs. People, could not 
expect to live forever, it would be necessary that her 
son’s wife should learn how to manage his household 
affairs. Matilda, for thus the good woman already 
thought of her prospective daughter-in-law, should 
do some things, and thus gradually learn the duties 
of her position. She could begin by washing up the 
269 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


tea-things and feeding the chickens. In course of 
time she might be able to take charge of the churn- 
ing, although Mrs. People very much doubted if that 
girl could ever produce such butter as she now set 
before her son. 

On the other hand, it would be very hard for her 
to leave her brother Enoch, who was getting some- 
what oldish now, and must sometimes feel a little stiff 
in his joints, although he never mentioned anything 
of the sort. She had lived a long time with her 
brother, and in some respects he had become as 
necessary to her as she was to him. And yet, how 
would it be possible for her to give up that desire 
of her life, to live once more in the house and on 
the farm to which Mr. People had taken her as a 
bride ? 

These conflicting feelings troubled her greatly, and 
she would sometimes sit and muse upon them much 
longer than was conducive to the regularity of the 
dinner -hour. One day, however, a consoling thought 
came to her. It was possible— nay, it was even more, 
it was very probable— that Matilda had in her com- 
position a good deal of spice, and not only such spice 
as ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, but pepper, and good 
hot red pepper, too, if Mrs. People knew anything 
about the outward signs of a woman’s disposition. 
Now, this peppery disposition might make the situa- 
tion of a mother-in-law in John’s home a very un- 
pleasant one, and it might be well, therefore, that she 
should remain in her present very comfortable position 
in her brother’s house. It was truly comforting to 
the mind of Mrs. People to settle this vexing question 
by reflecting that in all probability Matilda would be 
270 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


too peppery to live with ; and the remainder of the 
potato was- peeled. 

It was not so easy, however, for John People him- 
self to settle the question of Matilda Stull. He was 
now having opportunities for forwarding his suit 
which a short time before he would not have believed 
possible. He was living near fields through which 
Miss Stull walked and wandered, and where she had 
actually allowed him to walk and wander with her. 
He had no duties, and could walk and wander when 
he pleased. But the days of his vacation were rapidly 
passing, and he had done nothing decisive yet. At 
any moment he might expect to hear that the altera- 
tions at Vatoldi’s had progressed so far that it was 
necessary for him to go to the city and take charge of 
affairs. If he could again be alone with Miss Stull, and 
could make up his mind to show her the state of his 
feelings, he believed he ought to do it. In the city 
he had worshipped her from afar, and had never be- 
lieved that there was the slightest chance of possess- 
ing her ,• but here in the country, where people were 
ever so much more the equals of one another, he had 
worshipped her at a distance of a foot or, perhaps, 
eighteen inches ; and if a young lady was willing to 
walk with a young man through fields and gates so 
close as that, John thought that young man ought to 
be greatly encouraged, and might feel justified in 
speaking out his mind. 

In regard to what old Stull might say, in case of a 
favorable reply from the daughter, John was not 
over-sanguine. It was true that now, being a partner 
in the concern, although with a very small share of 
the profits, it might be possible that Mr. Stull would 
271 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


turn a favorable eye upon a connection which would, 
in a way, make the whole business a family affair. 
But, in spite of this encouraging thought, if John had 
been compelled at this time to make his proposals to 
the father instead of the daughter, he would have 
calmly resigned himself to perpetual bachelorhood. 
But should he be accepted by Miss Stull, he would 
wait and bear to any extent. 

John’s mind was in this condition when, one fine 
morning, Miss Matilda paid a visit to the Bullripple 
household. To John and his mother she came like 
an angel with white, wide-spreading wings ; to old 
Enoch she appeared as an uppish young woman with 
a cattle-irritating parasol ; and to Mr. Stratford, who 
regarded her from his window, she was an enigma. 
He knew who she was, but he could not imagine why 
she should come to that house and sit with John 
People under the great tree in the front yard. Miss 
Stull had really called upon Mrs. People ; but that 
sagacious mother had sent John to say that she would 
be out in a very few minutes, and had told him that 
he must entertain the visitor until she came. Mrs. 
People was devoured by desire to know the object of 
Miss Stull’s visit, but she restrained herself for the 
love of John. It was a heroic sacrifice, but she made 
it, and for ten minutes sifted sugar over a mass of bread 
dough without knowing what she did. 

Miss Stull was very desirous that Mrs. People should 
come out $ she wanted to ask her a lot of questions. 
But she did not betray any impatience toward John. 
The young man might be useful to her, particularly 
in the way of making her acquainted with Mr. Strat- 
ford, if the chance should occur. Miss Matilda wished 
272 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


very much to know the handsome gentleman she had 
seen driving with Gay Armatt. She had not supposed, 
when she came to this part of the country, that she 
should find such a man as that. She was therefore 
very gracious to John, and asked him so many ques- 
tions about the present composition of the Bullripple 
household that the young man was obliged to say a 
good deal about Stratford, and could not have failed 
to present him had he made his appearance. 

When she had waited quite as long as she could, 
having, in the meantime, made her dough all cake, 
Mrs. People came out, and John was constrained to 
walk away reluctantly, to give the young lady an 
opportunity of stating her business to his mother. 
He did not go very far, however, but busied himself 
about the wood-yard, from which point, with his face 
ever turned toward the object of his devotion, no 
matter how he might move and revolve, he held him- 
self ready, the instant the conference should be over, 
to accompany Miss Stull to the gate and to go with 
her as far over our continent as she would permit. 

What Miss Stull came to find out was the true state 
of things in the Justin house. Was Miss Gay engaged 
to the young man who was walking about in the 
parlor without her, or to Mr. Stratford, whom she 
had seen driving with her? In what business was 
this Mr. Crisman, and was he related to Mrs. Justin? 
Was Mr. Stratford rich? Was Mrs. Justin entirely 
satisfied with Gay’s match? All these things, and a 
number of other points, Miss Stull had hoped to learn 
from Gay ; but having failed to see that young lady, 
and not being able to wait until her call was returned, 
she had made a swoop upon Mrs. People. 

273 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


After some very thin talk about butter and eggs, 
Miss Stull found it easy to introduce the subject she 
had at heart. Mrs. People had also a subject at heart 
which she wished to introduce, and in order to get at 
it she rushed with haste and freedom into the subject 
presented by her visitor. She told Miss Stull so much, 
in fact, that that young lady turned pale with sur- 
prise, and then pink with delight, at being the re- 
cipient of such startling information. Mrs. People 
had been at Mrs. Justin’s house, and as that lady was 
desirous that it should be generally known that Mr. 
Crisman was no longer engaged to Miss Armatt, she 
had informed Mrs. People of the fact, and that good 
woman had easily possessed herself of as much of the 
detail of the event as Mrs. Justin judged proper to 
give her. This information, rapidly and generously 
garnished from the resources of her own mind, Mrs. 
People laid before Miss Stull. 

The interview was protracted so long that John’s 
ingenuity was greatly taxed to keep himself busy in 
view of the couple under the tree. When Miss 
Matilda rose to go, thus interrupting an abruptly 
introduced maternal panegyric of the manager of 
Yatoldi’s, her mind was filled with a pleasing con- 
sciousness that there was in this neighborhood a city 
gentleman, handsome and stylish and not engaged to 
be married. What advantage to herself she expected 
to result from this Miss Stull might not have been 
able to state in clear and convincing terms. But it 
was a great satisfaction to a person of her tempera- 
ment to know that the facts were as they were. 

John was with her before she reached the gate, and 
opened it for her. Then she stopped. 

274 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Isn’t there some way, Mr. People,” she said, “by 
which I can go home across the fields instead of walk- 
ing by the side of this monotonous road?” 

“Oh, yes,” said John, “but there are fences in the 
way, and draw-bars would have to be taken down.” 

“And isn’t there anybody,” she continued, “who 
can take down those bars?” 

To hear this question, and to see at the same time 
the meaning little smile on the face of the young lady 
who asked it, suffused John’s soul with more actual 
joy than it had ever before known. Yes, indeed,* 
there was somebody who could not only take down 
bars, but who would tear away walls, fill up ditches, 
and slay bulls, if necessary. John did not say this, 
but his manner indicated it. 

As they walked across the fields, Miss Matilda’s 
spirits were very lively, and her manner was very 
cordial. She had no idea of alluring this happy fly 
into her web, but she desired to make of him a thread- 
carrier, so to speak, who would take out beyond her 
present sphere of action those finely spun inducements 
by which she hoped to draw to herself the larger and 
brighter flutterer upon whom her eyes were fixed. 
John now lived with Mr. Stratford, and through him 
her very limited circle of acquaintance here might be 
enlarged by the addition of this gentleman. She con- 
sidered it her right to know every presentable man 
who might find himself within the limits of her social 
range. 

Miss Stull also hoped to make Mr. Stratford com- 
prehend, through John, what an exceedingly desira- 
ble thing it would be to become acquainted with 
her. But her methods toward this end had only the 
275 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


effect of causing John to feel that she was a more 
charming, desirable, and gracious superior being than 
even she herself had ever supposed it possible for her 
to become. On his side, he was emboldened to a point 
of courage he had not imagined he could reach. 
Before they had gone three quarters of the distance 
through a clover-field, John determined to make his 
sentiments known. He would not ask her plumply 
if she would marry him, as if she were a mere country 
girl, but he would show her his glowing soul. Had 
she not with the sweet words and enrapturing smiles 
of angels deliberately set it on fire ? And was it not 
due to her that she should see that it had kindled*? 

“ Another set of bars ! ” exclaimed Miss Matilda, as 
they approached the fence. “Oh, dear, Mr. People, 
what a deal of trouble I am putting you to ! ” 

“Trouble ! ” exclaimed the sturdy John. “I wish 
that I could take down every bar that you might 
meet with through your whole—” 

“Way home,” quickly interpolated Miss Matilda; 
“that is just what I want you to do. You are so 
strong and seem to understand these fences so well.” 

“That is not the point,” said John, as he seized a 
rail and jerked it from its sockets. “Other people 
might be able to take down bars—” 

“Yes,” interrupted Matilda, “Mr. Stratford, for 
instance. He has lived so much in this country that 
I suppose he knows all about such things.” 

“It isn’t the being able to do it,” said John, looking 
intently into the face of the young lady, “it is the 
wanting to do it.” 

Miss Matilda smiled upon him. “It is very good 
of you,” she said, “to be willing to do for other people 
276 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


what they cannot do for themselves. Now, if I were 
walking here alone I could never lift those heavy 
rails, and would have to crawl through the fence, or 
to climb over it as best I might . 77 

“If I had my way , 77 exclaimed John, forgetting in 
his excitement as he walked by Miss Matilda that it 
was necessary to put up the bars he had taken down, 
“there should never be in the way of your feet a stick, 
a stone, a clod, a lump— not so much as a piece of 
gravel . 77 

“Those things must be expected , 77 said the young 
lady, with demure triteness. 

“Oh, no, they needn’t be ! 77 cried John, in quick and 
fervid tones. “They need never be known at all, if 
there is one ever ready to brush and hurl them away, 
to make your paths as smooth— as smooth as roses . 77 

“Which are not smooth , 77 said Miss Matilda,* “at 
least, not when they are used to make a path of. 
That reminds me that at our house there are a lot of 
rose-bushes, and some of them have flowers on yet ; 
but mother and I both think that they are a poor 
kind of rose-bushes, and that if we are to come up 
here in the summer-time we might as well have some 
good ones planted. Do you know the names of some 
good roses that would grow here? Perhaps, if you 
don’t, Mr. Stratford could tell you. City men are so 
apt to know the names of good kinds of things . 77 

“I am a city man myself , 77 said John, in a tone 
somewhat different from that in which he had just 
spoken, “and I’ll get you all the roses you will ever 
want . 77 

“I don’t want you to get them , 77 said she. “I only 
want the names of them. And there is another thing 
277 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


I would like to ask you about. How do you make 
grass grow? Mother and I think there ought to be a 
great deal more of it about the house, but the farmer 
who lives there doesn’t seem to understand how to 
plant it.” 

With well-plied questions concerning the adorn- 
ment of their country home Miss Matilda engaged the 
attention of her companion until they had reached 
the last fence. Then she turned and held out her 
hand. 

“ Good-by, Mr. People,” she said. “There are now 
no other obstructions between me and the house, and 
I will not make you go any farther.” 

“There is an obstruction, Miss Stull,” said John, 
very earnestly, “an obstruction to my every joy, 
which—” 

“Oh, yes, I know,” quickly interrupted Miss Ma- 
tilda ; “those dreadful waiters who boycotted your 
place. It must be an awful obstruction, but it is 
bound to disappear in time, if you stand up boldly. 
Father has talked about it, and he says so. He is very 
fond of Vatoldi’s, and he says we must go there again 
as soon as things are all right. Good-by, Mr. People.” 
And with one of her pretty smiles, she tripped away. 

Regarding the state of affairs from John’s point of 
view, it was quite evident that angelic beings have 
their disadvantages, for their beautiful wings enable 
them to keep just out of one’s reach without feeling 
at all compelled to flee the company of the one who 
wishes to reach them. 

On the other hand, Miss Matilda, in her character 
of web-maker, discovered that a fly who may be sent 
out to inveigle other insects is apt to become entangled 
278 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


in a very troublesome and apparently hopeless manner 
in the subtle threads with which he has been in- 
trusted. 

This young lady, however, troubled herself very 
little about John’s condition. She liked to see a 
young man in this sort of involvement, especially 
when she herself had produced it, and her only regret 
in the present case was that the young man probably 
could not prove as useful as she had expected him to 
be. The most important object of her life at the 
present moment was to become acquainted with Mr. 
Stratford. It made her positively angry to think that 
she did not know him, and that she saw no way open 
by which she could become acquainted with him. 
She had called twice at the house where he lived, 
and accident had not favored her. She made a visit 
at Mrs. Justin’s at a time when he was expected there, 
but she had not met him. She had hoped to know 
him through Gay Armatt, but she was now in trouble 
and could not be expected to do much in the way of 
introducing gentlemen. Miss Matilda’s acute mind 
had discovered what sort of person was Mrs. People, 
and she was afraid to allow that good-hearted but 
exceedingly open-natured woman to know that she 
positively wished for the acquaintance of Mr. Strat- 
ford. Had she done this, Miss Stull might have ex- 
pected to be placed in a very undesirable position by 
the irrepressible frankness of Mrs. People. John had 
been her chief dependence, but she was now very 
much afraid that she would not be able to make use 
of him. He had become so addled that he could not 
understand any hints of her desires, and she was even 
afraid that if she should succeed in making him under - 
279 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


stand what she wanted, the numskull might actually 
refuse to make her acquainted with a man who might 
prove to be a rival. 

There was nothing to be done but to depend upon 
herself ; and as Miss Stull was quite used to this sort 
of dependence, she was not long in forming a plan. 
She must meet the man by accident. In a country 
place like this, where people wandered about as they 
pleased, this ought not to be a difficult matter ; and 
as Mr. Stratford had probably by this time heard of 
her, and as he knew of course that she had heard 
of him, they would not meet as positive strangers, 
and a chance encounter might be worked up to ad- 
vantage. 

Miss Matilda was rather fond of sketching, and 
although she had but small ability as an artist, she 
was extremely clever in a general way, and could so 
arrange her slight artistic gifts that they made a very 
good show. The weather being now quite suitable 
for outdoor sketching, Miss Stull arrayed herself in a 
most becoming and appropriate costume, and with a 
sketch-book and a little camp-stool under one arm, 
and a large umbrella with a long, pointed handle over 
her right shoulder, repaired to a pleasant spot at the 
foot of the hills, where some very good views could be 
had, and close by which she had observed, from a dis- 
tance, that a sportsman occasionally passed on his 
way to the trout-streams on the higher grounds. 

The sketcher did not immediately select a spot at 
which to begin her work. She rambled about a good 
deal, and looked about a good deal, in order to see 
what suitable thing there was in view which might 
be drawn. At last she decided upon a distant view 
280 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


which included a path that led through the Bullripple 
farm toward the village. 

Miss Matilda was a lucky young woman, especially 
when she put her own shoulder to her wheel of 
fortune, and she had scarcely sketched in the outlines 
of some rocks and gentle eminences when she saw 
coming toward her, among these outlines, a gentleman 
with a fishing-rod upon his shoulder. For some 
minutes she kept her eyes fixed upon her paper, and 
then, giving a little shrug to her shoulders and look- 
ing up at the sunlit sky, she put down her book and 
picked up the umbrella, which lay, closed, on the 
ground by her side. The pointed end of the long 
handle she now endeavored to thrust into the ground, 
but she found this a difficult performance. In one 
place the soil seemed very hard, in another there was 
long, tangled grass, and, after a jab or two, she decided 
that she would not like to sit there. After some 
deliberation, with her back to the object she intended 
to draw, she selected another spot ; but here she found 
a large stone just under the surface of the ground. 
Having quarried on this for some moments, she stopped 
and began fanning herself with her handkerchief. 
Such exertion was certainly very unusual with her, 
and she stood panting a little. The man must now 
be very near. 

In less than a minute she heard a step, and a gentle- 
man’s voice said to her : “Allow me, miss, to plant 
your umbrella for you.” 

She turned quickly and saw, not Mr. Stratford, but 
Mr. Crisman. She knew him the moment she saw 
him, and was now truly surprised, for she had sup- 
posed that when he had ended his engagement he had 
281 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


also ended his visit to these parts. But her soul did 
not shrink with disappointment. This was a very 
handsome young fellow, and she would be delighted 
to know the ex-lover of Gay Armatt, about whom she 
had had so much curiosity and so much doubt. 

With an ingenuous smile she accepted his offer, and 
the strong arm of Mr. Crisman soon fixed the handle 
of the umbrella in the ground as firmly as if it had 
been the mast of a boat. 


282 


CHAPTER XXIII 


While Mr. Crisman was engaged in setting up Miss 
Stull’s sketching-umbrella, that young lady looked 
upon him with much more interest than she regarded 
the work which he was doing for her. He was cer- 
tainly a handsome young man, and in some respects 
pleased her better than did Mr. Stratford. Mr. Cris- 
man, too, proved fully equal to the exigencies of this 
chance meeting. He was naturally chatty and sociable, 
and having become intensely bored during his com- 
panionless stay at the Cherry Bridge tavern, he was 
delighted at this legitimate opportunity of assisting 
and of talking to a very pretty young lady. He did 
not hesitate to ask questions or to offer suggestions in 
regard to the sketching business, and in her answers 
to these Miss Matilda managed, with much deftness, 
to inform him who she was and where she lived, and 
also to make him aware that she knew who he was. 

Crisman delayed his walk and watched the sketch- 
ing for some time, but at last he took up his rod. He 
asked her if she were coming again to this place to 
sketch, and she answered : 

“Of course, if I do not finish this to-day I must 
work on it to-morrow.” 

When she came again on the morrow, she found 
Mr. Crisman there. 


283 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“I thought I would come over,” he said, “and see 
how you were getting on with the picture.” And 
that was all the reason or pretence he deemed it 
necessary to give for his presence. 

Miss Stull liked this ; it showed that there was no 
nonsense about the young man ; and she greeted him 
very pleasantly. Although she had known him but 
such a very short time, and although their introduc- 
tion consisted of nothing but the words she herself 
had spoken concerning their respective identities, 
Mr. Crisman possessed the present qualification which 
in her eyes raised him above all other young men in 
the world : he was there. 

He stayed with her a full hour, during which the 
drawing made little progress, but the acquaintance- 
ship made much. John People was a simple-minded 
young man, while Mr. Crisman was, in many ways, 
extremely sharp-witted $ yet Miss Matilda drew from 
the latter twenty times more information in regard 
to the persons of their mutual knowledge than she 
had ever been able to extract from the former. They 
barely mentioned Gay, for Mr. Crisman did not wish 
to talk about her, and Miss Stull did not think it wise 
to do so ; but they discussed Mrs. Justin and Mr. Strat- 
ford very thoroughly, and when Mr. Crisman had 
finished his analysis of the character of the gentle- 
man, Miss Stull began to perceive how very kind 
chance had been in sending her the fisherman she did 
not expect instead of the one she had been looking 
for. 

Mr. Crisman then proceeded to give his companion 
a pretty good account of himself, and as this was a 
subject on which it always pleased him to talk, he 
284 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


dwelt upon it to a considerable extent. He omitted 
all allusion to the original cause of his visits to this 
neighborhood, contenting himself with stating that 
he was at present staying here to fish and shoot,— 
that is, if he could ever find anything to shoot,— and 
that in a few days he was going on a yachting expedi- 
tion, which would fill up the remainder of his vaca- 
tion. 

Mr. Crisman walked home with Miss Stull, carried 
her stool and her umbrella, went into the house, and 
was presented to her mother as a friend of Mrs. Justin. 
There was something extremely frank and straight- 
forward in the conduct of Mr. Crisman. There seemed 
to him nothing strained or unusual in his making the 
acquaintance of the Stull family in this informal 
manner, and he showed a readiness to enter into any 
intimate social relations to which he might be invited. 
Mrs. Stull liked the absence of that stiffness which 
she often noticed in the society which her husband 
compelled her to enter, and, altogether, these three 
persons, each of whom was beginning to feel some- 
what lonely in this country neighborhood, were very 
well satisfied with the new acquaintanceship. 

Miss Stull sat by herself that evening, after her 
mother had gone to bed, and seriously pondered upon 
Mr. Crisman. She knew better than any one who 
merely looked upon her that not only were the 
months and years passing by her, but that a very 
good proportion of them had already passed, and that 
the period had arrived when she should begin to 
think seriously of some young man or other. As far 
as she could judge, Mr. Crisman fulfilled all her 
requirements. Personally he was entirely satisfactory, 
285 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


and although she did not suppose he was rich, he 
had told her he was in a very good business, and she 
felt sure of this, for otherwise, in her opinion, the 
engagement of Gay Armatt would never have been 
allowed. In fact, this engagement was a strong 
recommendation to Miss Stull ; it was as though his 
preliminary examinations had been passed, and she 
might therefore take him at a much more advanced 
stage of friendship than a person who had not thus 
been proved. That the engagement had been broken 
off did not trouble her at all. From what she had 
seen, she attributed it entirely to Mr. Stratford’s 
agency ; and if the girl preferred to marry that man 
instead of Mr. Crisman, she, Miss Matilda, was quite 
satisfied. 

That her father would approve of Crisman she was 
not at all sure $ but then, her father disapproved of so 
many things, it would not do to consider him always. 
If she should become engaged to this gentleman, she 
herself would see to it that the marriage took place 
at the proper time, and as she saw no good reason for 
any objection on the part of her parent, she felt quite 
sure that the name of J. Weatherby Stull would be 
signed to such checks as might be needed at the 
beginning of housekeeping. As to the future, Miss 
Matilda was very hopeful. She was the principal 
child of the family, and she did not believe that her 
father would dare to divert permanently from her 
any portion of her rightful share in his property. 

Having thought over this matter for nearly two 
hours, she determined, unless subsequently she saw 
some reason for changing her mind, that she would 
marry Mr. Crisman, and that she must lose no time 
286 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


in making very good use of her present exceptional 
opportunities. 

During the next few days several admirable methods 
for enjoying the scenery and the air of the country 
about Cherry Bridge were suggested by Mr. Crisman. 
He believed these to be original suggestions, not per- 
ceiving that they were produced by the adroit and 
quiet working of Miss Matilda’s mind upon his own. 
There was nothing accidental about these walks and 
drives ; Mr. Crisman came boldly to Mrs. Stull’s resi- 
dence, and boldly stated what he came to propose. 

Miss Stull found that the remaining days of Mr. Cris- 
man’s vacation were not sufficient for the completion 
of her work, and she resolved to extend his stay at 
Cherry Bridge. For the day on which he was to join 
his yachting friends she proposed an excursion to a 
somewhat distant point of interest which she would 
never see unless she had some one like Mr. Crisman 
to accompany her. At first he declared that it was 
impossible for him to go on this excursion, but subse- 
quently telegraphed to his friends requesting them to 
postpone for a day their start on the yacht trip. On 
his return from his drive with Miss Stull he found a 
telegram informing him that wind, tide, and friends 
with limited time wait for no man, and that the 
yachting party had sailed. 

How there was no reason why Mr. Crisman should 
not spend the rest of his vacation at Cherry Bridge ; 
and there he spent it, and, for the greater part of the 
time, in the society of Miss Stull. On his side, Mr. 
Crisman had no serious thoughts in connection with 
this very pleasant companionship. He enjoyed it, 
but he never expected anything to come of it. He 
287 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


expected to marry Gay Armatt, and would not have 
been surprised at any time to receive a note from 
Mrs. Justin stating that it would be in the interest of 
all parties if he should call at her house to see Gay, 
who was beginning to look at the matter in dispute 
between them in a different light from that in which 
she had first regarded it. He had not the slightest 
idea of making any conciliatory propositions him- 
self; his nature was too obstinate for this; and he 
believed, besides, that anything in the way of a knuck- 
ling down 77 on his part would be injurious as a pre- 
cedent to the matrimonial relations he proposed to 
establish. He was very willing that the people at 
the Justin house should see that he was not pining 
away on account of the rupture of the engagement, 
and that he did not even have to leave Cherry Bridge 
in order to find agreeable companionship. 

And thus he wound his merry way among the 
subtle threads which Miss Matilda spread about him, 
sometimes breaking away in this direction or that, 
imagining the while that he was as free as a bird in 
the air, but carrying with him, all unknown to him- 
self, attachments strong enough to bring him back 
whenever Miss Matilda wished to draw him to her. 
As his holidays approached their close, the lady dex- 
terously tightened and strengthened his bonds, until 
one day he found himself so enwrapped and secured 
that he could not fly, nor run, nor walk, save at the 
will of his captor ; he was so skilfully bound, in fact, 
that he could not even wish to flutter. He was en- 
gaged to be married to Miss Matilda Stull. 

When he discovered this fact, it was natural that 
Mr. Crisman should experience some sudden emo- 
288 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


tions ; one of these was an emotion of vanity : how 
quickly had he conquered this fine girl ! He could 
not but think of what so lately had been,— Miss 
Matilda could not prevent that backward glance of 
his mind,— but the thoughts of what had been were 
overpowered by the thoughts of what existed now. 
All those fond feelings toward Gay, which had been 
cooled and hardened by his jealousy and his anger, 
Miss Matilda had warmed into strong glow and directed 
toward herself. One thing very potent in prevent- 
ing Crisman from looking backward was the remem- 
brance that never had Gay given that value to his 
utterances which had been so earnestly accorded them 
by Matilda. That deft spinner had actually spun 
her web over his heart. He loved her. He felt that 
she exactly suited him, and paying no thought to 
peculiarity of circumstances nor to hastiness of action, 
he was proud and happy that he had won this girl. 

When all this had been settled and these two were 
pledged to each other for life, Miss Matilda enjoined 
upon her lover strict secrecy for the present. Noth- 
ing was to be made public until the parties should 
meet in the city in the autumn, and then the lady 
would herself attend to the announcement of the 
engagement to her father. She felt quite sure she 
would be able to make him look upon the matter in 
a proper light $ when this was done, all else would be 
easy. And then she allowed Mr. Crisman to depart. 

Miss Stull’s next move was to inform Gay Armatt, 
as soon as possible, of what had happened. This was 
not in accordance with the injunctions of secrecy 
which she had imposed upon Mr. Crisman, but she 
considered it a necessary step, and did not hesitate to 
289 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


make it. Until Gay had been positively assured that 
her lover had gone from her forever, Matilda could 
not feel safe. 

Miss Matilda had not seen her young friend since 
she had met her in the buggy with Mr. Stratford. 
Mrs. Justin, having heard that Crisman was still in 
the neighborhood, said nothing about it to Gay, but 
endeavored to keep her, as much as possible, at home, 
in order that there might be no accidental and unde- 
sirable meeting. Stratford, too, thought it would be 
wise at this time to leave the trout-streams and the 
woods to the supposed irate young man, and he paid 
a short visit to the sea shore. About what Crisman 
might do or say, should he meet Stratford, the latter 
attempted to form no supposition; but he desired 
above all things to avoid scandal regarding Gay, and 
therefore went away. 

Miss Matilda had noticed this state of affairs, and 
thought that matters had been managed very wisely $ 
but now that Mr. Crisman had gone, there was no 
reason why Miss Armatt should be kept any longer 
in seclusion and ignorance, and she determined to see 
her. It is true that Miss Stull did not owe the Justin 
house a visit, the debt being the other way. But in 
the country, she argued, social rules may sometimes 
be set aside ; and happening to be driving that way, 
she stopped in to see Gay. It had been so long, she 
explained, since she had heard from her that she 
feared she might be ill. It was during this interview 
that Miss Matilda allowed Gay to suspect, and at last 
actually admitted to her, that she was engaged to 
Crisman. 

"I did not intend, my dear,” said Miss Stull, “to 
290 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


tell yon this at present, but the secret has come out 
almost without my knowing it. This is a queer world, 
isn’t it, dear? People pair off this way, and then 
they find they have made a mistake and they pair off 
that way. But, so long as we are all the happier for 
it, we ought to be very glad. And now, my dear 
Gay, I want you to understand that both you and 
Mrs. Justin owe us a visit,— I’ll be generous and won’t 
count this,— and if you don’t pay it very soon you’ll 
find us standing on our dignity. So now you see what 
you have to expect. Good-by, and I’m very sorry 
Mrs. Justin is not at home.” 

Gay remained standing by the chair from which she 
had risen when her visitor took her leave. Since the 
actual confession, and while Miss Matilda spoke her 
few concluding words, Gay had not opened her lips ; 
now she remained struck by a heavy pain, the 
nature of which she did not understand. She had 
sent this man away, and she ought to have known 
him well enough to comprehend that he would not 
return ; why, therefore, should she feel pain at what 
he had done ? A man who could so quickly turn his 
affections upon another could not be worthy of her. 
Why, therefore, should she now feel pain? He had 
treated her as no man should treat a woman; she 
had declined to be longer engaged to him ; and he 
had gone to another woman. Her pride, her reason, 
her womanly self-respect, stood by her to comfort 
and support her. But, in spite of all support and 
comfort, she did feel pain. 


291 


CHAPTER XXIV 


John People had been summoned by Mr. Stull to 
the city, the alterations at Vatoldi’s having reached 
a stage where the daily supervision of the manager 
was necessary. In the course of a week or so, how- 
ever, John contrived to arrange matters in such a 
way as to give himself two days in which to visit 
Cherry Bridge. He informed Mr. Stull that there 
were some affairs he wished to attend to which the 
somewhat unexpected conclusion of his holiday had 
forced him to neglect. He did not say that this 
neglected business was a proposition of love to Mr. 
Stull’s daughter, but such was the fact. John fully 
determined that before he left his native fields again 
he would boldly lay the state of his heart before Miss 
Stull, and find out how she regarded him. 

For the first day after his arrival in the country 
John wandered over the fields, along the roads, and 
in every place where he thought it might be possible 
accidentally to encounter Miss Matilda. But, Mr. 
Crisman having recently left, that young lady had 
gladly given herself a rest from country strolling, and 
John met her not. A visit to her house naturally 
suggested itself to his mind, but this course was repug- 
nant to him. In the first place, he thought that if he 
292 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


went to the Stull house everybody would know what 
he went for, and that he could not endure. Then, 
again, he could not be sure of seeing Miss Matilda 
alone in her home, and, even if he had this good 
fortune, he felt that in a room or on a piazza he could 
not speak to her as freely and eloquently as if he 
were with her in the open fields. 

On the second morning the pensive resignation on 
his brow deepened into positive trouble, for it now 
seemed quite probable to him that fate had decreed 
that he should visit Miss Matilda at her home. How 
he should do this, at what time he should go there, 
how he should demean himself, what primary reason 
he should give for his visit, were questions which 
greatly preyed upon his mind. Wandering slowly 
along the verdant banks of Cherry Creek, he lifted 
up his eyes, and beheld Miss Gay Armatt approaching 
him. Instantly there came into his mind a happy 
thought. He had met Miss Armatt several times, 
both at his uncle’s house and at Mrs. Justin’s, and, by 
his mother’s report, he knew her to be a most kind 
and good young woman. “How, why should she not 
help me ? ” was John’s happy thought. “I don’t mind 
telling her just what is the matter, and if she is as kind 
as they say she is, it will be easy enough for her to 
get Matilda to take a walk with her and so give me 
all the chance I want.” 

Having come up with the young lady, John took 
off his hat, bade her good morning, and stopped. Gay 
raised her eyes toward him as she returned his saluta- 
tion, and John thought that the lady probably did 
not feel very well. She was not looking her best. 
He made some inquiries about Mrs. Justin which had 
293 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


the effect of arresting Miss Armatt’s steps ; and then, 
finding that he could think of no other prefatory 
remarks, John perceived that it would be necessary 
for him to say immediately what he had to say. 

“Excuse me, miss,” said he, “for taking your time, 
but I want to ask you something, and I hope you are 
not in a hurry.” 

“I am in no hurry at all,” said Gay. “Is there 
anything I can do for you? ” 

This question helped him very much. “Oh, yes, 
indeed,” he said, “there is something you can do for 
me. It may seem very queer to you, Miss Armatt, 
for me to stand here and plump things out to you in 
this way ; but the fact is, there’s no time to be lost, 
and what I don’t do to-day can’t be done at all ; at 
least, there is no likelihood of it. It will amaze you a 
good deal, I have no doubt, when you hear me say— 
and I must own that I’m amazed to hear myself say 
it out freely this way— that I am in love.” 

“In love ! ” exclaimed Miss Gay, and there came 
into her face a quick look which startled John. It 
seemed to him as though she might bound into the 
bushes and flee from his sight like a deer. Could it 
be possible that this young lady thought that he was 
about to make an amatory proposal to her ? 

“It is Miss Stull I’m in love with,” said John, 
quickly, “and I’m pretty sure I shall never get a 
chance to let her know it if somebody doesn’t help me, 
and so I thought I’d ask you, thinking if you wouldn’t 
do it for my sake, which would be natural enough, 
not knowing me very well, you might do it for my 
mother’s, who looks on you and Mrs. Justin as her 
most valued neighbors.” 


294 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


It had been days since Gay had smiled, but she 
conld not help smiling now. “I am always glad to 
do anything neighborly,” said she, “but this seems 
very odd. Does your mother wish you to marry Miss 
Stull ? ” 

“She just builds on it,” answered John, “and I 
want you to know, Miss Armatt, that, although this 
thing might look out of the way to an outside party, 
there’s a good deal more reason for it than anybody, 
except just two or three, has any idea of. Miss Stull 
is the daughter of a rich man, and I am only the 
manager at Vatoldi’s. But there are things that I 
can’t tell you, but which will come out some day, 
that make matters a good deal more even between us 
than you would be likely to think. And I don’t 
doubt, either, that old Stull will come round all right 
when the affair has been settled between me and his 
daughter, and has run on long enough to get seasoned.” 

“But what would you have me to do about it?” 
asked Gay. 

“It’s just this,” said John : “This is the last day I 
have got to stay here, I don’t know for how long, and 
I am bound to tell her before I sleep to-night. Now, 
I can’t go to her house to tell her, Miss Armatt. 
TJpon my word I can’t ! If I was to meet her mother 
or those two young sisters, it would drive every word 
out of my mind. But on the green grass and under 
the blue sky I could tell her all I feel and think. 
And that is what I want to get a chance to do. Now, 
if you would ask her to take a walk with you this 
afternoon, and I was to fall in with you, and you’d 
think of some reason or other for being obliged to go 
home and leave us two there, then you’d be doing for 
205 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


me more than any woman on earth could do, except 
Matilda herself, if she be so minded to say the word I 
want her to say.” 

Gay stood and looked upon the ground. This was 
all very unpleasant and embarrassing. Here was a 
young man, whom she had heard of as a very good 
and deserving young man, who had been so unhappy 
as to fall in love with Matilda Stull. She did not 
thoroughly understand the relative social conditions of 
the two, but she knew that one was a rich young lady, 
and the other was the son of Mrs. People. These 
situations in life appeared quite incongruous to Gay, 
but she only thought of them in connection with her 
wonder that this love of the young man had ever been 
suffered to grow up. In regard to the present and 
important phase of the question, there was but one 
thing to think of, and that was that Miss Stull was 
already engaged. 

And yet Gay could not say this to John People. 
She had not told Mrs. Justin, nor Mr. Stratford, nor 
any one ; for it was not only the pledge of secrecy 
which prevented her from telling of this engagement : 
had she been free to speak, she could not have told 
any one that the man who but a few weeks before 
had been her lover had now promised to marry 
another woman. 

“Now, you see, Miss Armatt,” said John, “it is a 
very simple thing I ask of you. Won’t you be kind 
enough to do it for me f ” 

There was that in the tone and voice and look of 
John People which was so honest, and withal so 
tender, that it touched Gay’s heart. There could be 
no doubt that this man was truly in love. Would 
296 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


her conscience permit her to let him hurl himself 
against that cold steel wall which he adored, and in 
which he fancied he saw a reflection of himself? 

“It is a very hard thing/ 7 thought Gay, “for me to 
have to do this. It is just the same as if I were refus- 
ing him for Matilda Stull. People ought to attend to 
these things for themselves. And yet I know, and 
he doesn’t know. Ought I to let him go on in this 
blind way? It would be too cruel.” 

“Mr. People,” she said, “if I were you, I think I 
would not carry this matter any further. Indeed, 
I would not.” 

John looked at her very steadily, and a little of 
the ruddiness seemed to fade out of his face. “Why 
do you say that, Miss Armatt? Have you any reason 
to think I ought not to speak to her ? ” 

“Yes,” said Gay, “a very good reason. I can’t 
explain it to you, but—” 

“Now, Miss Armatt,” interrupted John, with eager 
haste, “I understand what you mean, but you are not 
right. You don’t know Miss Stull as I do. And even 
if things were as unequal between us as they look to 
, be,— and upon my word, Miss Armatt, I tell you they 
are not,— it wouldn’t make any difference to her. 
I’ve walked with her and I’ve talked with her, 
and if you could have heard her, you would know 
what I know. And besides,” he added, throwing into 
his voice a tone of strong entreaty, “I want to have 
this settled. I can’t live this way any longer. Even 
if she didn’t mean all she seemed to mean, and if she 
didn’t care about what I said, I want to know it. 
Perhaps if she thinks I am too forward, I might be 
able to make her understand that there have been 


297 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


changes. Things are not exactly as they used to be. 
You see, Miss Armatt, all I ask is, just help me to see 
her ; only let me talk to her.” 

“Mr. People,” said Gay, looking at him very 
earnestly, and with a certain gentleness in her voice, 
“I really would not try to see Miss Stull. It will be 
much better for you to give it all up at once. I know 
that you can never be anything to her.” 

“You know ! ” cried John. “Do you really mean 
that?” 

“I mean it,” she said ; “most earnestly and truly I 
mean it. You ask me to help you, and there is no 
way in the world in which I can help you so well as 
to keep you from taking one step more.” 

“Miss Armatt,” said John, his voice a little broken, 
“do you know anything which gives you the right to 
say that?” 

“Yes, I do,” answered Gay, “and it would be 
wicked and cruel in me not to say so. I am very, 
very sorry for you, Mr. People, but it would be of no 
use at all for you to go to Matilda Stull, and you 
ought not to do it.” 

John stood looking upon the ground $ then he raised 
his eyes. “Ho use at all? ” he said. 

“Hot one bit,” answered Gay. “I positively know it.” 

John’s breast heaved, and he turned to one side. 
Then he held out his hand. “I am much obliged to 
you, Miss Armatt,” he said. And he went away. 

Gay stood and looked after him. Hever again 
could that young man walk under blue skies and 
over green fields with the woman he loved. If he 
had ever done anything of the kind, all that was left 
to him now was to look back upon it. 

298 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


And she herself? She must look hack too. 

She walked on a few steps, and then she sat upon a 
store. “It is too hard,” she said to herself, “that this 
should he brought to me from both sides. It is too 
much ! ” And putting her face into her hands, there 
burst from her the first tears she had shed since she 
became a woman. 


299 


CHAPTER XXY 


Me. Zen as Tueby had not been very successful in 
his search for iron on the farm of Enoch Bullripple. 
He had found strong evidences of the existence of 
the ore on the lands of Mr. Stull, but the deposits did 
not seem to extend themselves in the direction of the 
Bullripple hills and fields. When Mr. Turby returned 
to his country town, after the Sunday on which Mr. 
Stratford had seen him making his investigations, he 
wrote Mr. Stull a report of the result of his searches, 
and it was very plain to him from the reply which 
he received that this report was not at all satisfactory 
to his employer. 

Mr. Stull was a man of business as well as a man 
of feeling, and while he would have been very glad 
to see Enoch Bullripple ousted from his farm and to 
possess himself of the same, he did not care to go into 
this transaction solely from motives of revenge ; he 
wished also to derive some direct advantage from it. 

The question of the tenure of the lands was a very 
simple one. Mrs. People’s husband and Enoch had 
each bought their farms from the heir of an old farmer 
who had been one of the earliest settlers of Cherry 
Bridge. The sale had been perfectly satisfactory to 
all parties, and Enoch had paid in full for his farm, 
300 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


but Mr. People bad never been able to do this, and 
therefore it was that Mr. Stull, desiring a country 
place in a picturesque region for his growing family, 
had found it possible to buy up the mortgage against 
said farm, to oust the People family, and to possess 
himself of the property. During the last few years, 
however, it had become known that the old farmer 
before mentioned had had other heirs besides the one 
who sold the farms to Mr. People and Enoch Bull- 
ripple $ but as these heirs lived in the West, and 
probably did not know that their relative had owned 
this mountain property, and, if they did, were not 
likely to enter into litigation for their share of the 
comparatively small value of the farms, the sandy 
foundations of this real-estate transaction were con- 
sidered to be quite sound enough for ordinary intents 
and purposes. 

Now, Mr. Stull looked upon the matter in this 
light : If his land and that of old Enoch were rich in 
iron ore, he wished to possess himself of it all on a 
secure tenure, and would, therefore, gladly take meas- 
ures to have the distant heirs come forward and 
prove their claims, and cause the property to be put 
upon the market, whereupon he would buy it, will- 
ingly sacrificing what he had paid before for the sake 
of the larger gain. But if it should prove to possess 
no mineral wealth, its agricultural value was not 
sufficient to make him desirous of buying it again, 
and he was perfectly willing to trust his good fortune 
and his lawyer to hold possession of it. Nor was the 
fact that Mr. Turby had found iron on his farm 
sufficient to induce Mr. Stull to take the measures he 
had meditated. If he could not have Enoch Bull- 
301 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


ripple’s land, and perhaps some adjoining properties, 
so as to form a large tract which would be worth 
working, Mr. Stull did not care to go into the iron-ore 
business. Therefore it was that Turby’s report was 
not satisfactory to him. 

Now, the energetic Zenas had hoped for himself a 
very fair profit from this piece of business, and he was 
loath, therefore, to see it dropped. Perceiving more 
plainly than he had perceived before that he ought 
to find iron ore on the land of Enoch Bullripple, he 
determined to do it, if the thing were possible. He 
thereupon made another visit to Cherry Bridge, and 
as Enoch and his sister were sitting down to dinner 
on a pleasant summer day, they both saw the tax-col- 
lector and amateur professor of applied geology busy 
at work near the top of a little hill not a half-mile 
from their window. 

u Confound that sneak of a Zenas Turby!” ex- 
claimed Enoch, rising to his feet. “I’ve a mind to 
take my gun and blow off the top of his head ! He 
knows I’ve told him not to come scratchin’ here on 
my land. He thinks he’s so far away we can’t see 
him.” 

Mrs. People was not in a happy humor. It had not 
been very long since she had been told by her son 
John, just before he had left her for the city, that the 
brilliant hopes she built upon the basis of a Stull- 
People combination had come to naught, and must be 
allowed to vanish utterly. It was very hard for her 
to bear a blow like this, and her customary expression 
of outreaching good nature had changed to one of 
mild ill humor. The vision of herself as the central 
figure in her old homestead, or at least declining to 
302 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


assume that position only from the fact that Matilda 
Stull might prove a disagreeable daughter to live 
with, had been a very dear one to her. She had seen 
it by day and by night— while making pies, at the 
working of butter, and even during the intricate 
processes of the preserving of plums and the concoc- 
tion of currant-jelly. To give it up was like a spoon- 
ful of brine in a custard pudding. 

The worst thing about Mrs. People’s ill humors, 
which were of very rare occurrence, was the fact that 
no one could tell in what direction they would vent 
themselves. Like a howitzer strapped to the back of 
a mule, they were as likely to be directed against 
friend as foe. 

“Now, what in the name of common sense, Enoch,” 
said she, “are you workin’ yourself up into such tan- 
trums for? If Zenas Turby finds iron on your land, 
how’s that goin’ to hurt you? What with the rains 
one year, an’ the drought the next, an’ the chicken- 
pip reg’lar every spring, there ain’t much else you 
get off it. If he finds ore, it’s yours an’ not his. So 
what’s the use of jumpin’ up that way an’ pullin’ the 
table-cloth all crooked?” 

Enoch sat down $ but he kept his eye fixed on Zenas, 
who was now engaged in filling up a hole he had 
made in the ground. When this had been done, he 
gathered some large flat stones and made a little pile 
of them near the place where he had dug his hole. 
“Markin’ the spot, eh?” said Enoch to himself, for 
he thought it not wise to make any further remarks 
to his sister. “What is he doin’ that for ? ” 

There now came into the shrewd old mind of Mr. 
Bullripple, as he watched the intruder disappear 
303 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


across the fields, a suspicion that those people out 
West, who, it had been rumored, ought to have had a 
voice in the giving of a title to this land, might have 
commissioned Zenas Turby to examine into the value 
of the property and find out whether or not it was 
worth fighting for. This supposition disturbed the 
mind of Enoch, for, although he had declined to believe 
in the alleged claims of the far-away heirs, and had 
very strong faith in the virtue of possession when it 
related to land that had been bought and paid for, it 
was natural enough that he should be troubled by any 
actual evidence that an attack might be made upon 
the validity of his land deeds. 

Even if Turby were merely searching for ore in the 
interests of some one who desired to open mines on 
his land, Enoch was dissatisfied. He had been told 
years before, by a scientific friend of Mr. Stratford, 
that there was no probability that his land contained 
iron, and he would have had no faith in the value of 
any propositions which might be made to him on the 
subject. 

When he had finished his dinner, Enoch put on his 
hat and went out. 

“How, if you meet Mr. Turby,” said Mrs. People, 
“don’t you bother him. If he can find anything that’s 
worth havin’ on this place, I’m sure I’d like to see 
him do it ! I always told you, Enoch, that you took 
the poorest farm, an’ let Mr. People have the one that 
was ever so much better. Of course I was glad enough 
of that at the time, but if you’d been a little sharper, 
you’d got the best farm, an’ you an’ me would have 
been livin’ on it now, an’ that Stull man would have 
had this dried-up place. Mr. People was very sharp.” 

304 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Enoch said nothing about his having preferred a 
farm for which he felt he could pay, leaving to his 
brother-in-law the larger one for which it would be 
very difficult to pay, and went out over the fields. 
He walked straight to the spot where Turby had 
been digging, and stood and looked at it, and with a 
sharp -pointed stone he began to turn up the loose 
soil. When he had scratched out the most of it, he 
looked into the bottom of the hole. 

“It may be,” thought he, “that that rocky stuff has 
got some iron in it ; and, at any rate, Pm dead sure 
that old Zenas is goin’ to bring somebody here to look 
at it.” 

Mr. Bullripple, in a reflective mood, stood kicking 
the loose earth and stones back into the hole. Then 
he suddenly pulled his soft felt hat down over his 
right brow, a broad grin illumined his countenance, 
and with rapid steps he started for home. In about 
half an hour he returned, pushing before him a heavily 
loaded wheelbarrow. When he reached the little pile 
of stones, he took from the barrow a spade and a pick- 
axe, and began vigorously to deepen the hole which 
Mr. Turby had made, throwing most of the excavated 
soil into the wheelbarrow, which had been emptied 
of all its contents. When the hole was deep enough, 
he nearly filled it with said contents, and then, throw- 
ing in some soil, he smoothed up the place and made 
it look very much as it had done when Turby left it. 
Then Enoch took away his tools and his barrow, 
dumping the soil the latter contained into a hollow 
at some little distance, and returned to his house. 

All that afternoon, no matter what else he might be 
doing, Mr. Bullripple kept an eye on the spot where 
305 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


he and Mr. Tnrby had been working. Nobody came 
to it, however, and the next morning he found him- 
self obliged to go to the village. He left the spot in 
question in charge of his sister, telling her that if, 
during his absence, she saw anybody go there to dig, 
she must put on her bonnet and hurry over there to 
see what they got out of the ground. As Mrs. People 
always possessed a lively curiosity to know what 
people might get out of the ground, or out of any- 
thing else, she willingly accepted this charge. 

When Mr. Bullripple arrived at the Cherry Bridge 
tavern, he found there Zenas Turby, who was osten- 
sibly visiting the village for the purpose of collecting 
some debts. 

“How d’ye do, Turby ? ” said Enoch. “Still keepin’ 
up your right, I see, to the name of 1 Old Scratch ’ ! ” 

“What do you mean?” asked the other. 

“I mean,” said Enoch, “that you’re still goin’ round, 
scratchin’ up people’s land to see what’s under the grass. 
I do sometimes think that the ground-hogs must owe 
you somethin’ and that you’re tryin’ to levy on ’em.” 

As usual, there were several village loungers in the 
room, and among these it was quite natural that 
Enoch’s remark should raise a laugh. 

“Humph ! ” growled Turby. “When I get anybody 
levied on either for not payin’ what he owes, or else 
for holdin’ what he don’t own, it isn’t goin’ to be a 
ground-hog, mind, I tell you.” 

“Now, look here, Zenas,” said Mr. Bullripple, seat- 
ing himself astride of a chair with his arms over its 
back, “it does make me laugh to see you come huntin’ 
and grubbin’ about my land to find iron ore when 
everybody knows there isn’t any there.” 

306 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“ Confound your land ! ” said Turby. “What do I 
care about it? ” And taking his big cane in his hand, 
he rose to depart. 

“Care about it!” shouted Enoch, in a tone which 
arrested the steps of the collector. “I should say you 
cared lots about it. Perhaps you will hardly believe 
me,” he said, turning round to the company, “but it’s 
as true as preachin’ that I saw Zenas Turby yesterday 
diggin’ away in one of my fields as if he was after a 
gold-mine. Now, I believe it’s nothin’ but contrari- 
ness that makes him do that. I’ve told him, over 
and over again, that there ain’t no ore there, and jes 
to prove that I am wrong, he’s tryin’ to find it ; but 
he’s found himself to be the worst mistook man in 
this county, in spite of all he says he knows about 
mines and ores, and that sort of thing.” 

Mr. Turby’s rugged face was turned severely upon 
Enoch. “Mistook, eh?” he growled. “That’s all 
you know about it ! I don’t mind sayin’ that I make 
it my business to know what sort of land there is in 
every part of this county, and I don’t make no mis- 
takes, nuther. And, to prove it, I say there is iron 
on Enoch Bullripple’s place. I don’t say there’s 
enough of it to make the land worth anything, which 
everybody knows it isn’t now ; but it’s there, for all 
that.” 

Enoch laughed derisively. “ It is easy enough to say 
that,” he cried, “but you couldn’t show me a piece 
of ore on my land as big as a hickory-nut. I dare 
you to do it.” 

Enoch’s contemptuous tone was very irritating to 
Mr. Turby. 

“Now, to show you and the rest of these people 
307 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


what sort of fool you are, Enoch Bullripple, Fll jes 
take you over to your own farm and let you see the 
ore that you haven’t got sense enough to know is 
there till I come to p’int it out to you. And anybody 
can come along that chooses.” 

“All right !” said Enoch. “If you want a chance 
to show what you don’t know, I’m ready to give it to 
you.” And he went out to his horse. 

Mr. Turby’s sulky was tied near by, and the tavern 
loungers did not mind a walk of a mile or so to find 
out which was the fool, Zenas Turby or Enoch Bull- 
ripple. Enoch called upon Pat, the stable-man, to 
come along and bring a spade and pickaxe, for he did 
not wish, he said, that Mr. Turby should fail in his 
search because his own little pick would not grub 
deep enough. 

The party proceeded by the road for a considerable 
distance, and then they tied their horses to a fence 
and went over the fields until they came to the spot 
where Zenas had been digging. 

“There’s iron ore here,” he said, “for I found it 
myself just about this spot.” 

“You have a great eye for spots,” said Enoch, 
assuming to take no notice of the little pile of stones, 
“and you can dig here jes as well as anywhere, for 
you won’t find nothin’.” 

“We’ll see about that,” said Zenas. “You can 
begin there,” turning to Pat and pointing to the place 
where the soil had been disturbed. 

Pat made a blow with his pick, and scattered some 
loose dirt and stones $ then again he brought down 
the heavy implement, and its point penetrated to 
some distance into the earth, where it appeared to 
fasten itself. The stout Pat gave a dexterous double 
308 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


twist and jerked it out, and lo ! upon its point there 
hung an old and somewhat rusty flat-iron ! 

Everybody started with surprise, and then there 
was a yell of laughter. 

“Upon my word ! ” shouted Enoch, “my sile has 
got iron in it, after all ! Go ahead, Pat ! ” 

The laughing Irishman went ahead with right good 
will, and in a few moments he brought out of the hole 
a piece of old chain, two or three horseshoes, and 
several pieces of broken stovepipe. 

Everybody was in a roar of delight except Mr. 
Turby, who stood purple-red and furious. “HI pay 
you for this, you Bullripple ! ” he said, shaking his fist 
at his old enemy. And without another word he 
marched away. 

If his anger had not dulled his usually sharp wits, 
he might have stopped long enough to show that 
there really was iron in the soil. But the boisterous 
derision of the little party made him forget every- 
thing else. 

“ Good-by, Zenas,” shouted Enoch after him. “I’ll 
give in that you are right and I am wrong. Nobody 
can say now that there ain’t no iron on my land, for 
you’ve come here yourself and p’inted it out.” 

And a fresh burst of laughter followed the retreat- 
ing Turby. 

Enoch now related with much glee how he had 
planned out and created this novel mineral deposit ; 
how he had gone to the village in the hope that he 
could find Turby and stir him up to come and get 
himself caught in this trap. And then the jubilant 
little company departed, to tell, to whomsoever they 
could find to listen, this capital joke upon an old cur- 
mudgeon whom nobody liked. 

309 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Ef iver he sez oiurn ore ag’in,” said the jovial Pat, 
“it’s shure there’ll he somebody to fetch him a bit of 
a sthovepoipe, and axin’ him ef that’s the sort he’s 
afther.” 

The first person to whom Enoch had the chance to 
tell the tale was his sister, whom he met as he was 
leading his horse homeward across the fields. Mrs. 
People had seen the men on the hill, and, true to her 
promise and her curiosity, had hurried off to find out 
what they were going to dig up. Rapid progress was 
impossible for her, and she did not arrive in time ; 
but Enoch’s story so warmed her with delight that 
the clouds and fogs that had come up on account of 
the Matilda Stull disappointment melted and vanished 
away, and the disposition of Mrs. People again dwelt 
under its naturally sunny sky. 

Mr. Turby drove directly home to his county town, 
and on the way he turned over this matter in his 
mind. He had made a blunder in allowing to slip 
from him in his anger the admission that he had 
found iron ore on the Bullripple farm. But, after all, 
the case was not as bad as it might be. The result of 
the joke would be to cause those giggling fools to 
believe that there was no ore there, and that suited 
him exactly. But he would make Enoch Bullripple 
pay for his trick ; and the first stroke in this present 
labor of hate would be to write to Mr. Stull and inform 
him that, having made renewed investigations on the 
Bullripple farm, he had found large deposits of iron. 

“If that stirs him up,” said Mr. Turby to himself, 
“to start out fresh ag’in after that land, he’s the man 
to git it. And when he’s got it, it’ll be my turn to 
do the grinnin’ ! ” 


310 


CHAPTER XXYI 


■When Horace Stratford returned from the sea-shore 
to his summer home on the Bullripple farm, his mind 
was in a state of uncertainty which was not usual to 
it. This was occasioned by doubts in regard to the 
proper conduct of his relations with Gay Armatt. 
Everything was now very different from what it had 
been. In his former intercourse with her the two had 
been separated by a barrier which protected them 
both, and, while it separated them, actually gave 
them a sense of freedom in their social relations which 
they could not have felt had they not always been 
able to see that the engagement with Crisman stood 
between them. That barrier no longer existed, and 
Stratford could not but ask himself if Gay and he 
could continue to move in close parallel lines without 
a bar between them. Would not their lines ever be 
liable to meet? Would not the world wonder if they 
did not meet? Would not Gay herself wonder? 

But he was not at all willing to create an effectual 
barrier of space by removing his line to a great and 
safe distance from that of Gay. He knew nothing of 
the new bonds into which Crisman had entered, and 
he had not that faith in the absolute sundering of the 
man’s relations with Gay which he would have liked 
311 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


to have. If the two should come together, — the one 
a little lonely, still loyal as far as principle could go, 
and always apt to he tender-hearted, and the other 
repentant of his brutal folly and with renewed desire 
to possess that treasure on which he had turned his 
back,— Stratford would be very fearful of the conse- 
quences. And if those consequences should be a re- 
engagement, the last condition of Gay would be far 
worse than the first, for she would take a man whom 
she knew to be unworthy of her, and this step would 
give his unworthiness peculiar advantages in their 
future life. 

Looking at the matter in this light, it was plain 
enough that Gay should not be left to feel the want 
of that companionship to which she had been accus- 
tomed during this bright summer, and to miss that 
support and stimulation which Stratford had given 
her almost ever since he had known her, and which, 
in his opinion, had been productive of such good re- 
sults. He could not forget that the devil finds some 
mischief still for idle minds as well as for idle hands, 
and he wished that Gay’s mind should be worthily 
and industriously engaged with something which 
should not be Crisman. 

If Stratford had been asked why he had not before 
considered the possibility of this dilemma, he would 
have answered that the present state of affairs came 
about much more suddenly than he had expected. 
He had believed that Gay would gradually be led to 
see her false position, and as the problems of the case 
formed themselves, the solutions would also appear. 
But now there was no time for the natural growth of 
solutions. They must be artificially constructed, and 
312 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Stratford felt the task a very difficult one. If he 
could have been taken into the confidence of Miss 
Matilda Stull, his mind would have been very much 
easier. 

In this mental condition Stratford went to visit 
Mrs. Justin, and when he had been ten minutes in the 
company of Gay, all his doubts and uncertainties 
regarding his proper course of action were dissipated. 
This was in consequence, first, of the girl’s demeanor, 
for she met him with the same frank and earnest 
friendliness which she had shown to him on the last 
day they had met. “She has not changed in regard 
to me,” he said to himself, “and why should I change 
in regard to her ? ” 

In the second place, Stratford was affected by Gay’s 
appearance. There was something of sadness about 
her, and while he could not determine exactly how 
this sadness showed itself, he could see that it was 
there. She had lost none of her bloom, her freshness, 
or her beauty ; but, apart from her friendliness and 
her delight in meeting him again, she was not exactly 
the same Gay. 

“Poor child ! ” thought Stratford, “she has been 
touched more deeply than I supposed, and I must do 
what I can for her.” 

Therefore it was that the next morning the old read- 
ings were recommenced on the piazza $ and therefore 
it was that on many days afterwards Stratford stayed 
to luncheon and often to dinner, and that the beauti- 
ful country freely yielded its pleasures, sometimes to 
the three of them, and sometimes to the two. Strat- 
ford was very anxious to see the full joyousness of 
Gay’s nature assert itself. He thought it due to her 
313 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


character that there should disappear from her de- 
meanor as soon as possible all vestige of regret for a 
step which her own good sense and high honor had 
impelled her to take. He knew nothing of that second 
blow, that revelation of the fact that not only had she 
no lover, but that she never had had a lover. To be 
affianced now to Matilda Stull, Crisman must always 
have been false to her. So thought Gay Armatt. 

The full joyousness did not appear, but Gay entered 
with great earnestness and hearty good will into every- 
thing that Stratford proposed, whether it were study 
or pleasure. She had not known before how much 
restraint she had been used to put upon herself in her 
intercourse with this friend. She now knew that not 
only had there been a good deal of restraint, but that 
it had all disappeared. As the days passed on, she 
became Stratford’s disciple. No one ever more 
thoroughly believed in a master than she believed 
in him. 

With the exceedingly friendly intimacy which re- 
sulted from all this Mrs. Justin did not interfere. She 
had thought Stratford’s course wrong in the begin- 
ning, and she thought it wrong now. She did not 
believe it was right in a man who had just broken off 
a match to step forward so promptly to turn the 
rupture to his own advantage. And yet, she could 
not deny to herself that no greater good could have 
happened to Gay than her delivery from Crisman. 
And neither could she believe that any possible good 
could now come to the girl which would be greater 
than a marriage with Stratford. She had opposed 
that which she believed to be evil which was being 
done that good might come of it, and the good had 
314 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


come in spite of her opposition. She now considered 
that she had done enough. She would oppose no 
more. 

It was on a warm morning, well forward in August, 
that Stratford was very much surprised by a visit from 
Arthur Thorne. It was such an unusual, in fact such 
an unheard-of thing for Thorne to make a visit with- 
out either being invited or announcing his intention, 
that Stratford did not attempt to conceal his astonish- 
ment when he met his friend. 

“I thought you would be somewhat amazed,” said 
Mr. Thorne, as he took a seat on the Bullripple porch 
and fanned himself with his straw hat, “but I didn’t 
suppose your emotion would really injure your con- 
stitution, and as I wanted to come, I came. I’ll tell 
you all about it as soon as I am a little cooled off.” 

In a few minutes Mr. Thorne became more comfort- 
able, and then he settled himself back in the big 
wooden arm-chair and asked his friend for a pipe. 

“A pipe ! ” exclaimed Stratford. “You don’t mean 
to say you smoke ! ” 

“Yes, I do,” said Thorne. “Why shouldn’t I smoke ? 
In fact, I like to smoke. The family don’t object to 
it out here, do they?” 

“Of course nobody objects to it,” said the other, 
“but I must admit that I am surprised to find that 
you want to smoke, and especially a pipe.” 

Stratford brought the pipe and one for himself, and 
the two friends composed themselves for a chat. 

“I can talk so much better when I am smoking,” 
said Arthur. 

“That is a new thing, isn’t it?” remarked Strat- 
ford. 


315 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Rather newish/ 7 said his friend. “And indeed 
there seems to he a tendency toward newishness with 
me. Now, I am well aware that it isn 7 t proper for 
me to come here without knowing whether you want 
me or not, or even writing to let you know I intended 
to do it. But I took it into my head to come, and 
here I am. If it is not entirely convenient for you to 
have me, I can go to the tavern in the village. I 
dare say it is a very good tavern. 77 

“Convenient! 77 said Stratford. “Of course it is 
entirely convenient. Here is the room which you had 
before all ready for you. 77 

“That is very good of you, 77 said Thorne, “and I 
don’t mind in the least telling you why I came down 
here, or up, whichever it is. It is all on account of 
Miss Armatt. I never had anything take possession 
of me as that girl has ! I have tried to be proper 
about it, but it 7 s of no use. In fact, I am tired of 
being proper. It doesn’t pay. Sometimes it makes 
me sick to see everything straight and proper about 
me, for I am just the other way myself. I have 
worked hard at one thing and I have worked hard at 
another ; that doesn’t help me at all 5 I am thinking 
of her all the time. Then I sat down, and said to 
myself: ‘This trying to do the right thing is all stuff 
and nonsense. There is Stratford ; he doesn’t trouble 
himself about anything of the sort, and he is happy. 
If he likes a girl, he makes himself agreeable to her, 
he spends his time with her, and he carries out his 
theories. It doesn’t make any difference to him that 
she is engaged to be married to some one else, and 
why should it make a difference to me? I cannot 
expect to make myself agreeable to her, nor to spend 
316 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


my time with her, and I have no theories to carry 
out, but I can go there and look at her again.’ And 
that I determined to do. Now, I know very well 
that even this is not right $ that it is unjust to myself, 
and unjust to the man who is engaged to Miss Armatt. 
But, as I said before, I am tired of doing right. That 
sort of thing doesn’t help me any. It simply gives 
me the worst of everything and puts me in the back- 
ground ; and I have made up my mind to drop it. Of 
course this is all very astonishing to you, Stratford, 
but I determined to be quite frank and open with you, 
and let you see everything just as it stands.” 

Stratford drew a long breath. “I wish to be per- 
fectly frank and open with you” he said, “and there- 
fore deem it my duty to tell you that Miss Armatt is 
not under promise to marry any one. Her engage- 
ment with Mr. Crisman has been broken off.” 

“Good heavens !” exclaimed Thorne, springing up 
so suddenly that his chair fell backward on the porch. 


317 


CHAPTER XXVII 


When Arthur Thorne jumped up so suddenly on 
hearing the surprising announcement that Gay 
Armatt was not engaged to be married to any one, 
the noise made by his falling chair brought Mrs. 
People hurrying to the porch. 

“Oh, how do you do, Mr. Thorne ?” she exclaimed. 
“I hadn’t the least notion in the world that you was 
here, an’ if you’ve been trying to tilt back in that 
chair I wonder you didn’t break your neck ! The 
hind legs is too straight up an’ down. I’m very glad 
to see you here again, though Mr. Stratford never 
told me a word of your cornin’, an’ I’ll have your 
room ready for you in ten minutes.” 

To these remarks Mr. Thorne made no reply, but 
stood looking at Stratford. He was a man notable 
for his courteous manners to every one, but his mind 
was so completely occupied with what he had just 
heard that he scarcely noticed that Mrs. People was 
talking to him. 

After a very searching gaze directed upon Mr. 
Thorne, that good woman stepped inside the front 
door, and beckoned to Stratford. The latter excused 
himself to his visitor, who was still standing in blank 
staring astonishment, and went into the house. He 
318 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


was very glad to do so, for conversation with Thorne 
in his present state of mind, and with Mrs. People 
near by, was not to be desired. 

Mrs. People conducted Stratford into an inner room 
and closed the door. “If I was you/’ she said quickly, 
“I’d take him up-stairs jes as soon as I’ve put on the 
clean sheets an’ pillow-cases, an’ I’d have him in bed 
before his chill comes on. Of course he brought it 
with him, for there’s nothin’ of the kind here, but this 
mountain air often does bring ’em out dreadful sud- 
den, when the system is full of malariousness. It 
won’t do to give him any quinine till he’s got through 
with his fever, an’ I’m no hand to be recommendin’ 
mustard-plasters an’ hot foot-soaks before there’s any 
real reason for usin’ ’em ; but what I’ll make for him, 
and bring it up to his room almost as soon as you’ve 
got him tucked in comfortable, is a big bowl of hot 
quassia tea. Mr. People, when he was livin’, used to 
say that there was nothin’ that suited more of the 
different chronic things that he was afflicted with 
than quassia tea. Its bein’ such a good honest bitter 
is one of its strong p’ints, an’ Mr. People has told me 
often, when he took it for some of his more triflin’ 
complaints, that he forgot he had anythin’ the matter 
with him but a taste in his mouth. So I’ll put the 
quassia on to draw, an’ then I’ll take Maria right up 
to his room, an’ we’ll get it ready.” 

Stratford did not interrupt Mrs. People in these , 
remarks, for they amused him, and he was very will- 
ing, moreover, not only to give his friend time to 
somewhat tranquillize his mind, but to get an oppor- 
tunity to arrange his own ideas. But he now told 
Mrs. People that Mr. Thorne needed no medicine 
319 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


whatever, but was merely a little disturbed in his 
mind by something that had occurred. 

“ Disturbed! I should think! 7 ’ said the kind- 
hearted woman. “An’ if he’s lost all his money I 
hope you’ll tell him, Mr. Stratford, that as long as 
he’s a friend of yours there’s always a room for him 
here, an’ the board may run on for a year, if he 
likes.” 

Stratford thanked her, and went out to meet his 
friend. “Let us go under that big tree,” he said, 
“where we can talk more at our ease.” 

When they reached the big tree Stratford took a 
seat, motioning his friend to another ; but Thorne 
remained standing. “Do you mean to tell me,” said 
he, “that Miss Armatt is perfectly free and disen- 
gaged?” 

“Yes,” said Stratford, “that is what I said.” 

“Well, then,” asked Thorne, “what reason is there 
why I should not pay my addresses to her ? ” 

“There are two very strong reasons,” said Stratford. 
“One is that it would be heartless in any one to 
address a girl whose sensitive nature has just received 
a very severe shock in the breaking off of an engage- 
ment ; and, in the second place, it would be very bad 
policy both as regards Miss Armatt and yourself. But 
from what I know it is not at all certain that Crisman 
has lost all his chances. Were he to repent and 
return, and there is no reason why he should not do 
this if he is not an absolute ass, I should be very much 
afraid of the result. With a girl of Miss Armatt’s 
principles it would be much easier to renew a former 
engagement than to make a fresh one. Any attempt 
now to enlist her affections would throw her mind into 


320 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


such disturbance that, were that man to return, he 
would find her troubled mental condition greatly to 
his advantage.” 

Thorne snapped his fingers impatiently. “For 
these reasons,” he said, “I suppose you are now keep- 
ing away from her.” 

“The reasons have nothing to do with me,” said 
Stratford. “As you very well know, I have no inten- 
tion of addressing her, and my object is, as it has been, 
to bring her mind into such a condition that the 
element of regard for Crisman must necessarily be 
eliminated from it.” 

Thorne stood for some moments steadily gazing at 
his friend. Then he said : “Stratford, that may all 
be very well, but it seems to me that I am the one 
who should undertake the task of encouraging and 
helping this young girl in the way you speak of. I 
have an object in it, which you say you have not. I 
have heard you speak of carrying her over the gap 
which the success of your plans might create. Very 
well, then, let me carry her over. I shall not drop 
her on the other side, as you say you intend to do.” 

“My dear boy,” said Stratford, with a smile, “you 
could not do it. You do not know her, and she does 
not know you. In many respects you are strangers 
to each other, and it will be utterly impossible for her 
to have that confidence in you, and I may say that 
regard for you, which is absolutely necessary in this 
case. It would be impertinent, and utterly unjusti- 
fiable, for me or any one else to attempt to arrange 
Miss Armatt’s future for her. I have simply endeav- 
ored to avert from her an evil which she did not 
understand, and I hope I have succeeded. With any- 
321 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


thing further than that I have nothing to do j but I 
will say, as I have said before, that it would delight 
me very much to see her married to such a man as 
you. And, by the way, I wish you would sit down.” 

Mr. Thorne did not move. “Stratford,” said he, 
“you are very difficult to understand, and I don’t 
pretend to be able to do it ; but you have said two 
things with which I agree. One is that it would be 
wrong to address the lady openly at this time ; and 
the other is that my comparatively slight acquaintance 
with her places me under a very great disadvantage. 
This I shall endeavor as soon as possible to remove. I 
shall try to know her, and let her know me. I came 
into these parts solely to see her ; I shall remain for 
the purpose of becoming thoroughly acquainted with 
her : that is all $ and I shall do no more until the proper 
time comes. It is a good first step, and I am glad you 
suggested it to me.” 

Stratford did not immediately reply, but presently 
lie said, “Then I am to have you here with me!” 

“No,” said Thorne, “that would not be well. You 
are very kind, and so is that good woman. But I 
shall not be satisfied to stay here. I shall wish to feel 
perfectly independent. I shall go to the hotel in the 
village. There is one there, I believe ? ” 

“There is no hotel,” said Stratford $ “there is noth- 
ing but a tavern, and I am sure it will not suit you 
at all. It will be much better for you to stay here.” 

“You are very good indeed,” said Thorne, “but I 
prefer the tavern. I left some baggage at the station, 
and I will have it sent there. Good-by.” 

Stratford rose and took his extended hand. “I sup- 
pose I shall see you again,” said he. 

322 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Oh, yes / 7 said Mr. Thorne. “No doubt we shall 
meet often . 77 And he strode away. 

“He doesn’t believe in me , 77 thought Stratford. 
“And he is wonderfully changed . 77 

The next day Mr. Thorne made a formal call at 
Mrs. Justin’s house. He saw both the ladies, and 
although there was no trace of the fact in their 
manner, neither of them was glad to see him. Gay 
thought that he would prove an interruption to the 
course of reading that she and Mr. Stratford were 
carrying on together ; and Mrs. Justin could not but 
imagine, remembering Mr. Thorne’s letter to her, that 
in some way he had heard of the broken engagement, 
and, considering the field open, had come to pay his 
addresses to Gay. Of this she did not at all approve, 
for, after what had happened, there was only one man 
she favored as a husband for her young friend. She 
would not have Gay tossed about like a shuttlecock 
from this man to that. 

Mrs. Justin was not long left to conjecture upon 
this subject. Mr. Thorne took an early opportunity 
of speaking to her privately. He informed her that 
his feelings and aspirations in regard to Miss Armatt 
remained the same as when he had previously com- 
municated with her by letter ; and that having re- 
cently heard that the young lady’s affections were 
now disengaged, he desired, at the proper time and 
season, to endeavor to win those affections ; but that 
he was very well aware that any such attempt would 
be useless and reprehensible at present. All he now 
wished was to obtain Mrs. Justin’s consent, as the 
young lady’s friend and guardian, to visit her and 
make her as thoroughly acquainted with him as pos- 
323 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


sible. Mrs. Justin might feel assured that more than 
this he would not do during his present stay in the 
vicinity. 

To all this Mrs. Justin could make no outward 
objection, although she did not like it at all. She 
knew Mr. Thorne to be a perfectly honorable man, 
and therefore felt justified in inviting him to visit her 
frequently during his stay ; but she gave him no 
encouragement whatever, stating that she did not feel 
that she had any right to say or do anything which 
could be construed to affect in any way Miss Ar matt’s 
prospects of the kind alluded to. 

“I wished to make my object and intentions plain 
to you, madam,” said Thorne, “without leaving any- 
thing to conjecture ; and if, after hearing me, you 
permit me to visit your house, it is all I ask.” 

“He is too horribly correct,” thought Mrs. Justin, 
when Thorne had gone, “and in this case nothing 
could be worse than that, for it gives me no oppor- 
tunity to oppose him.” 

When Mrs. Justin next saw Stratford she expressed 
her impatience with this visit of his friend Thorne. 
“He is a thoroughly good fellow,” she said, “but I do 
not want him to interfere with you.” 

“Mrs. Justin,” said Stratford, his brows contracting 
as he spoke, “am I never to expect to be believed by 
you regarding my intentions toward Gay Armatt? ” 

“I do not wish to believe what you have said to 
me about them,” she answered, “and I earnestly hope 
that you will say nothing more of the kind. Y ou ought 
to marry Gay Armatt for your own sake, for every- 
body’s sake, but above all for her sake. It would be 
cruel, positively cruel, for you to drop her now.” 

324 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“I do not wish to say anything,” said Stratford, 
“ which might give rise to unpleasant feelings between 
us, but I will merely reassert, entirely for my own 
satisfaction, that I do not intend to marry Gay 
Armatt.” 

“I should be grieved indeed,” said Mrs. Justin, “if 
any unpleasant feelings should arise between us, but 
I will say, entirely for my own satisfaction, that you 
cannot help marrying her.” 

And with that she left him. 


325 


CHAPTER XXVIII 

When the alterations at Vatoldi’s had reached that 
stage at which John People could personally carry 
out the manifold directions and plans of Mr. Stull, the 
work went on rapidly, and it was not long before the 
famous restaurant, greatly enlarged and very much 
improved, opened its doors again to the public. The 
boycotting campaign having come to an end, it was 
very easy to secure a corps of trained waiters, nearly 
all the old ones being eager to return to their former 
positions, and being no longer under the influence of 
the contumacious Bencher, they were perfectly willing 
to renounce all aspirations in the direction of coat- 
tails. 

But against any further trouble of this kind Mr. 
Stull had fully provided. The employees were all 
very well paid, but each man signed a printed con- 
tract by which he agreed that a certain percentage of 
his wages should be held back and forfeited in case of 
dismissal for misconduct, the most important breach 
of rule being any attempt to redress grievances by 
other means than those stated in the contract. Mr. 
Stull had given a great deal of time and thought to 
the construction of an agreement which, while it 
offered good men inducements to enter his service, 
326 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


would make it a losing business for them if they 
attempted to interfere with his methods of regulating 
the establishment. All these arrangements, with 
many others tending to place Vatoldi’s on a higher 
pedestal than it had yet stood upon, were carefully 
carried into effect by John People, whose conferences 
with his superior not only took place every afternoon, 
but frequently occupied a large portion of the even- 
ing. An increase of custom quickly greeted the reopen- 
ing of the restaurant, and Vatoldi’s soon became a 
more crowded and fashionable resort than it had ever 
been before. 

When all this had been accomplished, Mr. Stull 
thought himself entitled to a holiday, and repaired to 
his farm near Cherry Bridge, where not only could 
he take some country air, but look into the business 
with which Mr. Turby had been intrusted. It might 
seem a little odd to those who were not well acquainted 
with Miss Matilda Stull that she should have chosen 
the time of her father’s coming for a visit of herself 
and her mother to the city ; but Miss Matilda never al- 
lowed the coming or going of any one to interfere with 
her plans ; and although she had not formed this plan 
until she had heard of her father’s intention, she 
declared it to be absolutely necessary that she should 
go to town to confer with mantua-makers, in prepara- 
tion for the autumnal season. As she could not go 
alone, her mother, of course, must accompany her. 

The absence of his wife and daughter at the time 
of his arrival at his farm did not at all disturb the 
mind of Mr. Stull, who, having come to the country 
for a holiday, was not averse to a few days’ freedom 
from interruption to thought and action. To be sure, 
327 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Iris two younger daughters remained, but these were 
little girls who had learned how pleasant it was not 
to interfere with their father’s occupations. 

Mrs. Stull had now been made acquainted with her 
daughter’s engagement, and it was, therefore, in the 
handsome rooms of the Stull city mansion that Mr. 
Crisman paid his frequent visits to his lady-love dur- 
ing her stay in town. 

John People, once more behind his cashier’s desk, 
and behind, indeed, nearly everything else in the 
establishment, deepened the lines of pensive resigna- 
tion on his brow. The gentle roll in his gait became 
more than ever indicative of a determination to go 
ahead and do his duty, no matter how much care and 
trouble weighed upon him. All his hopes in the 
direction of Miss Stull had entirely departed. When 
Gay Armatt had told him that it was positively use- 
less for him to speak a word of love to Miss Stull, he 
had gone away believing her absolutely and entirely. 
Of a truthful nature himself, he could appreciate 
truth when it was told to him by such a girl as Gay, 
and told as she told it. He had come to town fully 
convinced that Matilda Stull could be to him no more 
than an occasional customer in the restaurant over 
which he presided. 

He took from an inner recess of his pocket-book a 
two-dollar note, in the corner of which were some 
initials and a date, and placing this in the money- 
drawer, he repaid himself with two dollars in silver. 
It gave him a sad pleasure a few minutes afterwards 
to give this note, with other change, to a lady who 
was paying her bill. Thrown into the vortex of 
metropolitan circulation, there was no reason to sup- 
328 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

pose he would ever see it again. Not only did John 
thus snap asunder the only actual link between him 
and Miss Stull, but, like the practical man that he 
was, he resolved, if possible, to teach himself that he 
must turn away from looking after her, and in order 
to do this he must learn to look steadfastly in another 
direction. Therefore it was that with steadfast heart 
and resolute eyes he looked at Miss Burns. 

Miss Burns was a young lady who stood behind the 
gentlemen’s furnishing-goods counter of a large dry- 
goods store directly opposite Vatoldi’s. John had 
bought cravats and gloves of her, and she, in turn, 
had taken many a meal at Vatoldi’s. There were 
those of her companions who asserted that she thus 
sacrificed economy to convenience, because there were 
other restaurants, not far distant, where she could 
have been served more cheaply. Miss Burns liked 
Yatoldi’s, and John had reason to believe that she 
also liked him, for in the two years during which they 
had interchanged patronage he had found frequent 
opportunities of making himself agreeable to her, and 
she had shown that he was agreeable. She was a girl 
of pleasant appearance, although a trifle over-thin; 
but John liked thin girls, and until his regard for 
Miss Stull began to crystallize itself into yearning, his 
occasional intercourse with Miss Burns had been 
exceedingly pleasant to him. But for months and 
months he had almost forgotten her. For her there 
was no corner in the refrigerator, nor any corner in 
his heart. 

This change of manner had been noticed by Miss 
Burns, and for some time before the troubles began 
at Vatoldi’s she had been forced to admit that it 
329 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


would have been quite as well for her to study 
economy at the expense of convenience and to take 
her midday meal at the restaurants frequented by her 
companions. But lately she had had a desire to view 
the renewed glories of Vatoldi’s, and had several times 
visited the place. John had noticed her, and once 
had spoken to her, but there was that in his manner 
which showed the young woman that even this atten- 
tion she owed entirely to his memory. But, as has 
been said, John had come to the determination to 
occupy his saddened eyes by turning them in the 
direction of Miss Burns. 

It was about this time that there was brought to 
the restaurant a quantity of very choice clams. These 
were of such unusually attractive appearance that 
John bethought himself of exhibiting some of them 
on a long inclined shelf near his desk, on which were 
occasionally displayed some extraordinary fine speci- 
mens of fish, flesh, or fowl. To this work he devoted 
some comparatively leisure moments of the morning. 

As he arranged them on the shelf, his meditative 
soul began to influence his hands, and he formed the 
clams into letters and gradually into words. He soon 
became much interested in his work, and selecting 
the smallest of the shellfish, and carefully placing 
them, he formed a sentence in clams, which, in large 
letters, ran the whole length of the shelf. It read : 

Gone are all the hopes I cherished. 

Stepping back, John gazed at his work with much 
satisfaction, and several of the waiters remarked upon 
it with approbation. 


330 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“ You might have a new piece of poetry there every 
day,” said one. 

John smiled sadly. His desire for poetic selections 
was now very limited. 

A little before one o’clock that day there entered 
into Vatoldi’s Miss Matilda Stull. She was shopping 
in that region, and she wanted her luncheon. She 
expected, of course, that she would see John People 
there, but that made no difference to her ; she had no 
intention of deserting her favorite restaurant because 
this young man happened to be the manager of it. 
She was well aware that she had led him by a very 
short string during the period in which she had hoped 
to make use of him, but she did not believe that here, 
in his place of business, he would presume upon that 
familiar intercourse which in the country is allowed 
among persons of different classes. If, however, any- 
thing of the kind should occur, she knew well how to 
treat it ; and she entered Vatoldi’s with all freedom 
and confidence. 

The room was well filled, but she had not made 
three steps within the door before John saw her. A 
thrill went through him, and he stooped to conceal 
the consequences of it which appeared in his face. In 
a moment, however, he raised himself, and went on 
with his duties, keeping his eyes upon the work before 
him. He did not dare to look at her, for fear she 
would not recognize him, and that would be a jagged 
wound. It would be better for her to think he had 
not seen her. At any rate he must have time to grasp 
the situation — a very unexpected one to him, for he 
had supposed the lady to be in the country. 

But it was not long before he found it impossible 
331 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


to avoid raising his eyes in her direction, and as he 
did so he met her glance. With a very slight smile 
which bore no sign of friendship, but merely indicated 
that acquaintance which, in the way of business, any 
one might have with another, she beckoned him to 
her. Surprised and very much embarrassed by this 
action, John approached her. 

“Mr. People,” she said, “how do you do? I would 
like to have the clams in those first three words,” 
pointing as she spoke, “for my luncheon. Will you 
please have them stewed for me ? ” 

John turned and gazed somewhat blankly at the 
sentence he had formed. “ ‘ Gone are all ’ won’t make 
a full stew,” he said. “Those clams are very small.” 

“They will be quite enough,” said Miss Stull. 
“Please order them cooked.” 

There was a look which accompanied this injunction 
that would have convinced John, if he had needed 
convincing, of the absolute truth of what Gay Armatt 
had said to him. He turned without speaking, and, 
walking to the shelf, gathered up, with his own hands, 
the clams which spelled “Gone are all.” He handed 
them to an attendant, and ordered them stewed for 
the lady at the table opposite, and then stepped back 
to his desk, his heart like a clam within him. 

In about five minutes he raised his eyes at the 
opening of the door, and he beheld Miss Burns enter- 
ing. He looked at her for a moment, and then his 
blood, which apparently had been greatly occupied 
elsewhere, came up into his face. He stood more 
erect, his whole body seemed to stiffen, and with a 
sudden resolve he walked to the newcomer, who sat 
behind Miss Stull, and much nearer the door. 

332 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Miss Burns/’ said he, “we have some very fine 
clams to-day. Will you let me have a stew made for 
you?” 

Gratified by this attention, Miss Burns immediately 
gave her assent. John now quickly stepped to the 
shelf, threw aside the last two letters of his sentence, 
and gathering up the clams which formed “the hopes 
I cherish,” sent them to be stewed. 

Miss Burns, following John’s movements, saw the 
words before the clams were swept together, and, 
stooping, fumbled with the buttons of one of her 
boots. 

The waiter thought the stew would be a large one, 
but he made no remark. There was something in 
John’s eye which showed that he meant what he did. 

Miss Stull, who was waiting for her stew, and had 
turned half around when John left the desk, saw the 
whole proceeding. It brought upon her face a smile, 
a very different one from that which had last been 
there, and a very good smile for John People. 


333 


CHAPTER XXIX 


On the day of his arrival at his farm Mr. Stull drove 
over to the county town and had an interview with 
Zenas Turby. That energetic collector of debts and 
facts had made a very favorable report in regard to 
the iron on the Bullripple farm ; and Mr. Stull now 
also received valuable information concerning the 
Western heirs to the farms held by himself and 
Enoch. These persons had been made acquainted by 
Mr. Turby’s letters with the loss and injustice they 
had sustained, and of the fact that although the 
property in question was not very valuable, it was 
quite certain, if the affair were properly managed, that 
they could come into their rights without expensive 
process of law ,* the case being so plain that the parties 
in possession would probably not think it worth while 
to resist the setting aside of the illegal transfer and 
the immediate sale of the property with a rightful 
division of the proceeds. 

“They must think,” said Mr. Stull, “that the parties 
in possession are very great fools to give up what they 
have paid for without making a fight for it ; but if it 
is to our advantage to appear foolish, let us do so, by 
all means. I am perfectly willing to decline to throw 
good money after bad in defending my title, and as 
334 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


to that man Bullripple, I imagine there will not be 
much trouble in making him take the same position, 
for I don’t believe he can afford to go to law about 
it.” 

“Not he,” sneered Mr. Turby. “When he can pay 
his taxes he is doing very well.” 

“What we have to do now,” said Mr. Stull, “is to 
have the matter legally arranged as quickly as pos- 
sible, and the sale ordered. I shall then buy both 
tracts.” 

“You will get them cheap,” said Turby, “for there’s 
nobody in these parts who will care to bid against 
you.” 

Mr. Stull wanted, of course, to get the land as 
cheaply as possible, having already paid for part of it y 
but as the amount paid had not been very large, he 
would have preferred to lose that, and to give a fair 
average price for the two farms, rather than to hold 
one of them by a tenure which would make it impos- 
sible for him to dispose of it justly, and unadvisable 
to invest any money in its improvement and develop- 
ment. His business sagacity had never before allowed 
him to buy property to which he could not receive a 
good title, but the opportunity to become possessed 
of the late Mr. People’s farm for a small sum had been 
a tempting one, and had caused Mr. Stull to close the 
bargain and take his chances as to future settlement 
with heirs who might or who might not turn up. His 
chance now, he thought, was very good, and even if 
the land should not be valuable from a mineral point 
of view, he would be glad to have a large and exten- 
sive country place in this picturesque region. 

“I will see Bullripple myself,” he said to Turby. “I 
335 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


think I can make him understand that his wisest course 
will be to step aside and make no opposition. And, by 
the way, you can mention to those Western people 
that it might be well for them to offer some induce- 
ments to the parties in possession to vacate their 
claims. Considering that we have paid our money, 
they ought to do that.” 

“I’ll put that to them,” said Turby, “and if they 
agree, it ought to help persuade that thick-headed 
Bullripple to step out.” 

The next morning Mr. Stull called upon Enoch, 
and appeared before him in the light of an injured 
man. His sense of injury, however, was mingled 
with a solemn dignity which forbade any violence of 
expression. 

He told Enoch of the information he had re- 
ceived concerning the Western heirs, and then he 
added, “You have brought me, sir, into a very annoy- 
ing predicament j a situation, I may say, which is 
unworthy of me.” 

“I’d like to know what I had to do with it? ” asked 
Enoch. 

“You had a great deal to do with it,” replied Mr. 
Stull, with lofty severity. “You were apparently a 
man of probity in this vicinity, and you were the 
alleged owner of a property which had been acquired 
at the same time and in the same way as that which 
had belonged to your brother-in-law, and which I 
bought. With your example before my eyes, there 
was no reason why I should hesitate to pay my money 
for that land.” 

“Considering how little you paid,” said Enoch, “I 
don’t think you had any reason to hesitate.” 

336 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“That land, sir,” continued Mr. Stull, without 
attention to the last remark, “as I am now informed, 
does not belong to me any more than this land belongs 
to you. But I have not come here to make reproaches. 
There are some losses which my self-respect teaches 
me to accept and say nothing about. I am here 
simply to know what you intend to do in the matter. 
If it is carried to the courts, I have no case and 
you have no case. That will be followed by great 
expense and much annoyance, and by the loss of the 
land the same as if we had not gone to law. I con- 
sider that the proper, the honorable, and the honest 
course is for me and for you to accept the situation, 
to cease to insist upon an ownership in lands for 
which we have not paid all the rightful owners, and 
to accept whatever terms said owners are willing to 
offer us. How, sir, do you intend to join me in this 
just and honorable course? Or do you propose to act 
in a stubborn and litigious manner, and so bring 
trouble and expense upon all concerned?” 

Mr. Bullripple sat with his eyes half shut and fixed 
upon the ground. “It may be,” he thought, “that 
this land has iron in it, after all.” Then he replied to 
Mr. Stull. “I can’t say,” said he, “upon a suddint 
this way, jes exactly what I’ll do. But I do declare 
it doesn’t look a bit like you to give up this way jes 
as soon as the thing is mentioned.” 

“When I am right,” said Mr. Stull, with much lof- 
tiness, “I never give up ; but when I am wrong, I deem 
it my duty to do so without delay, and I hope, sir, that 
you will see that it is also your duty as well as your 
interest.” 

“Well, Mr. Stull,” said Enoch, rising and taking 
337 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


two strides with his hands in his pockets, “Fll think it 
over and see what is best to be done. And I guess 
the first thing to be done is to wait till we hear some- 
thing positive from those fellows in the West.” 

“I have said all I have to say,” said Mr. Stull. 
And he took his leave. 

“Bullripple is too stupidly obstinate to agree with 
anybody,” he said to himself, as he walked away, “but 
if I give in he’ll have to.” 

Enoch was a good deal more disturbed by Mr. Stull’s 
information than he had appeared to be. He had 
heard of these Western heirs, but had never put much 
faith in them, and he had believed, moreover, that 
his possession would in time give him a valid title 
which would be good against all claims. But he had 
never given himself any trouble to ascertain the 
existence or non-existence of other claimants, and had 
taken no legal measures, in fact, to protect himself in 
case claims should be brought. 

Nothing, however, so disturbed his faith in the 
strength of his tenure of his farm as the fact that Mr. 
Stull had admitted that the title to his own farm was 
not a good one. He had never liked Stull, and since 
his discovery of the ownership of Yatoldi’s he had had 
a thorough contempt for the man. But he knew him 
to be an unusually astute business man, and when Mr. 
Stull stated that his title to a piece of property was 
not good, there was as much reason to believe that he 
had thoroughly examined the case and was correct in 
his view of it as there was to believe that he never 
would have made the admission if it were possible to 
avoid it. 

But Enoch’s belief in Mr. Stull’s business sagacity 
338 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


went still further. “That pieman,” he thought, “is 
pushin’ this thing, and he wouldn’t do it if he didn’t 
expect to make somethin’ out of it. If there wasn’t 
no more of it than what he told me, he’d jes keep 
quiet and let other people do what had to he done. 
Yes, sir,” he said aloud to himself, after he had taken 
a few meditative turns with his hands in his pockets, 
“there’s more in this thing than he wants me to see. 
It may be iron, and it may be something else ; but, 
whatever it is, the pieman is on the grab for it ! ” 

Mr. Bullripple thought over this matter all the rest 
of the day and a good part of the night $ and in the 
morning he laid the subject before Mr. Stratford. 
That gentleman listened with much attention $ he was 
always interested in Enoch and his concerns. But 
before he could form any opinion in regard to the 
case, Mr. Bullripple, who was one of those persons 
who ask counsel of others for the purpose of having 
their own decisions supported, proceeded to give his 
views. 

“Of course, I can’t tell,” said he, “exactly what that 
Stull is after, but I’ve given my brains a good badger- 
in’, and I’ve pretty well made up my mind that when 
the whole thing is settled, it’ll be Stull that’s got these 
two farms, and not them Western men. And when 
that’s happened, I may as well get ready to walk, for 
he hates me wuss than he hates the devil.” 

“Why should that be?” asked Mr. Stratford, sur- 
prised. 

“Oh, well,” said Enoch, “he and I once had a little 
business together, and I got the better of him. It’s 
not a thing I can talk about, but it made him hate 
me ; there’* no gettin’ round that.” 

339 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Remembering all that Enoch had told him at 
Vatoldi’s about his being in search of a rat in a hole, 
and assuming, for he had never been so informed, that 
this search had been successful, it was not difficult for 
Mr. Stratford to put this and that together. He 
reflected that Enoch, who was always very free-spoken 
about his affairs, had never told him the result of his 
hunt for the rat, and had just admitted that he had 
had a piece of private business with Mr. Stull of which 
he could not speak, and it was natural that in Mr. 
Stratford’s mind said Stull and said rat should merge 
themselves into the same personality. 

This conclusion surprised Stratford very much. If 
Enoch had been earnestly looking for some one, it 
was tolerably certain that there was some one to look 
for, and he knew no reason why that some one should 
not be Mr. Stull. Stratford knew the man but 
slightly, and cared little for what he knew. It was, 
therefore, a matter of small concern to him that the 
bank president sold oyster stews, but it was a matter 
of very great concern that Enoch had discovered the 
fact. This old farmer was a man whose character 
and methods deserved careful study. 

“Now, this is the way I’ve worked it out,” con- 
tinued Enoch. “If what Stull says is so, and I’m 
inclined to believe it is, for he wouldn’t come to any 
man and tell him that he didn’t own any particular 
thing if there was the least chance in the world of his 
keepin’ it without fairly ownin’ it, then I’m of the 
opinion that the quicker somethin’ is done the better.” 

“What would you do?” asked Stratford. 

“What I’d do,” said Enoch, “would be this : I’d go 
straight out West and see them other heirs. I’d look 
340 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


into their claims and see how good they was. It 
wouldn’t cost much to do that. Then, if everything 
was all straight, I’d just ask ’em what they’d take for 
their claims. If they had any sense at all they’d 
rather take a middlin’ fair price down in cash than 
to go to a lot of trouble and perhaps have the land 
sold for mighty little. I think I could put all that 
before ’em so’s they could see it. Then I’d come 
home and go to somebody,— say to you, Mr. Stratford, 
—and borry the money I’d have to pay down ; I’d be 
mighty keerful, too, to hunt up any other heirs, if 
there was any, and buy up their claims. When that 
was all done, I’d take the same law steps that them 
fellers would have took, and when the case was 
settled, the property needn’t be sold to divide the 
money, for there’d only be one owner to the whole of 
it, and that would be me. When I’d got the deed all 
safe in my possession, I’d give the man who lent me 
the money— he’d have to trust me till then— a mort- 
gage on the whole property. Then there couldn’t be 
no turnin’ out of house and home. I’d go on here the 
same as ever, payin’ a fair and reg’lar interest on the 
mortgage. And as for Stull, if he likes that place, he 
could jes live there as long as he liked, and I’d put 
the rent high enough to cover the interest I’d have 
to pay on the two places. If he didn’t want to do that, 
he might go, and that farm could easily be sold for 
enough to pay off the whole mortgage. Now, isn’t 
that a pretty straight and even plan? With all the 
iron left out, too, for that’s a thing I don’t believe in.” 

Stratford laughed. “It certainly is an ingenious 
plan, and may hold together. If I were you I’d try 
it. I fear there are some weak points in your scheme, 
341 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


but they may not prevent its success. At all events, 
you would lose nothing by the trial, and I should be 
very sorry indeed to see this farm taken from you.” 

“Well, sir,” said Enoch, “that’s what you’d do if 
you was me. Now, then, bein’ yourself, would you 
advance me the money, and then take a mortgage on 
the land for it?” 

“Yes,” said Mr. Stratford; “if the facts are what 
you suppose them to be, and all the heirs are willing 
to sell out their claims, I’ll advance the money.” 

“Good!” cried Mr. Bullripple, slapping one hard 
palm with the other. “And now I’ll see if I can’t 
match farm-work ag’in’ pie-bakin’.” 

“Enoch,” said Mr. Stratford, with a smile, “you 
said too much that time.” 

“Perhaps I did,” said the old farmer, “but slips 
don’t count.” 

As he walked away Mr. Stratford felt more than 
ever convinced that if Enoch Bullripple, instead of 
being driven from his farm by the revengeful Stull, 
should succeed, without loss to himself or to any one, 
in making that lofty personage pay him rent for his 
present country-seat, he would add very much to his 
previous claims to be considered a hundredth man. 
It was not the old farmer’s cleverness and natural 
cunning that Stratford considered in this connection ; 
it was his willingness, as shown in his extraordinary 
conduct at Yatoldi’s, to throw himself, for the purpose 
of gaining his ends, into a position which nobody else 
would be likely to think of or be courageous enough 
to take, which made our friend imagine that, in all 
probability, his search for a man, entirely unique and 
exceptional, had at last met with success. 

342 


CHAPTER XXX 


Gay Arm att did not find the presence of Mr. Thorne 
in the Cherry Bridge neighborhood that interruption 
to her studies and daily pursuits which she had sup- 
posed it would be. Her expectations had been that 
Mr. Stratford would find it necessary to give so much 
of his time to his friend that very little of it would be 
left for her. Of course there were studies and a good 
many daily pursuits which could very well be carried 
on without the presence of Mr. Stratford, but this did 
not suit Miss Gay. She had become accustomed to 
Stratford’s helpful counsel and to the pleasure of his 
society. She liked them, and she did not wish to give 
them up. She was sitting at the feet of a master, and 
it would have greatly grieved her had circumstances 
compelled her to rise. 

But Arthur Thorne did not prove to be such a 
circumstance. On the contrary, he was scrupulously 
careful not to interfere with the life which Gay was 
now leading. Stratford determined to go on with his 
visits to Mrs. Justin and his intercourse with Gay as 
if Thorne had not been there ; while the younger man 
determined that his intercourse with Gay should be 
largely influenced by the fact that Stratford was there. 
It was not his object to endeavor to supplant Strat- 
343 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


ford ) this he knew he could not do ; all he hoped was 
to make himself known, and perhaps favorably known, 
to the woman he loved. If, then, Stratford held to 
his word, his opportunity might come. At all events, 
he would not be a stranger to Gay Armatt. That 
point in Stratford’s argument had made a strong 
impression on him. 

It was Thorne’s custom to walk over from the 
Cherry Bridge tavern in the afternoon, and often in 
the evening, and if he could talk or walk with one or 
both of the ladies, or play croquet with them, or do 
for them anything which they might wish him to do, 
he was very glad. If it happened that Stratford was 
there, and it often did so happen, Thorne showed no 
indisposition to join in any general occupation, though 
he avoided thrusting himself into any special one. 
He took the goods the goddesses gave, and was very 
thankful. 

Mrs. Justin noticed all this, and though she really 
wished Mr. Thorne would stay away, she could not 
help honoring him for his thoughtful and courteous 
conduct. His visits could not be pleasant to her, 
favoring, as she did, a union between Stratford and 
Gay, but no man whom she knew could have brought 
upon himself under similar circumstances so small a 
taint of unpleasantness. 

Guy did not know Mr. Thorne’s object in coming to 
the house, but she soon found, that, as far as she was 
concerned, his coming made no difference. This was 
very pleasant, and made her look upon the gentle- 
man, especially at croquet, as an agreeable addition 
to their little circle. She could not but see, too, 
although it did not strike her mind as soon as it did 
344 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


that of Mrs. Justin, how he refrained from putting 
himself in those paths which she and Mr. Stratford 
were wont to walk together. For that she liked Mr. 
Thorne better than for anything else. 

As the days went on, the ladies of the Justin 
household began to appreciate the fact that two 
gentlemen were better than one, because the little 
vacancies and gaps which must occasionally be left 
by one of them could almost always be filled by the 
other. A more useful and agreeable second man than 
Mr. Thorne could scarcely be found. In most cases 
he was perfectly able to take the place of first man, 
and yet he was always willing to fall into the subor- 
dinate position. This indicated mental endowments 
of a kind very rare and very valuable. 

Though Mr. Stratford was a frequent visitor at the 
Justin house, he did not come every day, and some- 
times, of a morning, Arthur Thorne would stand and 
lean against the railings of the shady piazza where 
Gay was in the habit of doing her reading and study- 
ing, which, by the way, had become much more of a 
habit than in the early summer. At such times he 
did not stay very long nor say very much, but it cost 
him an effort, which only a strong man could have 
given, to tear himself away and leave Gay undis- 
turbed with her books. Several times Mrs. Justin 
noticed this proceeding, and she could not refrain 
from giving Mr. Thorne her unqualified admiration. 

On one of these occasions Thorne remarked to Gay : 
“I wish very much, Miss Armatt, that there was 
something inside the vast scope of human knowledge 
which I could help you to study. There ought to be 
something, but I don’t believe there is.” 

345 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Gay smiled. “I expect there are ever so many 
things / 7 she said, “that you could teach me from 
beginning to end . 77 

Thorne shook his head. “No / 7 said he, “your 
studies are extensive enough already, and there is 
nothing I would undertake to teach, except law ; and 
in that, of course, you would take no interest . 77 

“I am not so sure of that , 77 said Gay. “There are 
a great many things about law which a woman ought 
to know, especially those things which particularly 
concern her, and of which I am totally ignorant . 77 

“And would you like to know them ? 77 eagerly 
asked Thorne. 

“Certainly , 77 answered Gay. “The object of my 
life, Mr. Thorne, is to know . 77 

As she said this a little shade of darkness crept into 
that young face, which Thorne had never seen there 
before. It was so slight a shade that most persons 
would not have noticed it, but Thorne marked it, and 
referred it to the fact that a little while ago this 
young person had another object in life, which, in a 
tangible and acknowledged form, did not now exist. 

“If you will allow me, Miss Armatt , 77 he said, “it 
will give me very great pleasure to indicate to you 
some points of law which I really think you ought to 
understand, and without a knowledge of which, I do 
not hesitate to say, I believe no person should be 
called thoroughly educated. I can write out the 
points to which it would be well to direct your atten- 
tion, and give you authorities and references which 
you can make use of, if you like. Then you can look 
into the subject at your convenience, and I can always 
furnish you with any books you may want . 77 

346 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“You are very kind indeed, Mr. Thorne,” said 
Gay, “and I think your suggestion a sensible and 
practical one. There are many general principles of 
law, and particular applications, too, which I am sure 
would be of use to me, and which I really ought to 
know if I ever expect to call myself well informed. 
It would be entirely too much for you to write out 
subjects and references, as you are so good as to sug- 
gest, and I would not ask you to put yourself to so 
much trouble $ but if you could talk over the matter 
with me when it is perfectly convenient to you, I 
should be very much obliged indeed. It wouldn’t 
interfere at all with my other work, for I have plenty 
of spare time.” 

As Gray said this she had a consciousness that she 
was conferring a favor, and that it was pleasant to 
confer it. She was entirely honest in the expression 
of her desire to know something of the laws under 
which she lived j but she also felt that Mr. Thorne 
was a young man of such kindly disposition that it 
was a kindness to him to give him an opportunity to 
be kind. 

Mr. Thorne was charmed. He went away to his 
room in the Cherry Bridge tavern, and set himself to 
work to prepare from the resources of his very exten- 
sive information a concise but comprehensive sum- 
mary of some of the fundamental principles of law 
which everybody ought to know, and also of such 
specific points as women in particular ought to know. 
The work interested him greatly, and it was not until 
his lamp burned out that night that he laid down his 
pen. Early the next morning he hired a horse and 
rode over to the county town, where he asked the 
347 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


privilege from a lawyer to make abstracts from some 
of his legal books. 

It was several days before Arthur Thorne had pre- 
pared to his satisfaction his ground-plan of the legal 
education of Gray Armatt. When it was finished he 
betook himself to the Justin mansion with his papers 
in his pocket, determined on no account to obtrude 
the matter upon her attention did not a favorable 
opportunity present itself. 

His opportunity came immediately. He found 
Gay and Mrs. Justin sitting together, and the young 
lady received him with unusual cordiality. “I hope, 
Mr. Thorne,” she said, “that you have come prepared 
to talk law. I have thought of no less than four 
things that I want to ask you immediately, although 
I suppose you will wish to begin with Magna Charta, 
or some such foundation-stone.” 

“I am quite ready,” he said, pulling out his papers, 
“and Magna Charta can wait. Now, what are your 
four points ? ” 

Mrs. Justin had been told by Gay of the proposed 
plan of legal instruction, and she had not favored it. 
It would give Thorne too many advantages, and 
besides, she thought that Gay was working too hard 
already. But her young friend set aside all her objec- 
tions. These things would be but trifles, she declared, 
and even were it otherwise, she had never felt so 
much like work in her life. 

Mrs. Justin had not withdrawn her objections, but 
after a little talk with Mr. Thorne she withdrew her- 
self, and left the two to settle the four points. When, 
that evening, she told Mr. Stratford of Gay’s new 
course of study, he did not object. 

348 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

“It seems rather an odd thing to do,” he said, “but 
then, Gay Armatt is somewhat of an odd young lady, 
and as for Arthur Thorne, although he is generally 
most oddly proper, I have found that, upon occasion, 
he can be properly odd.” 

Mrs. Justin shrugged her shoulders. “I do not like 
it at all,” she said. 

“I think I do,” replied Stratford. “A certain 
amount of knowledge of that kind will be very useful 
to Miss Armatt, and Thorne is just the man to give it 
to her.” 

“He is just the man who should not give it to her,” 
quickly replied Mrs. Justin. “Horace Stratford, you 
are either blind or wickedly foolish.” 

“My dear friend,” said Mr. Stratford, “I wish that 
I could make you understand that I am neither.” 

“That you can easily do,” said Mrs. Justin, “by 
marrying Gay.” And there the conversation stopped. 

Not every day, but still often, Gray and Arthur, 
with a great deal of earnest interest on each side, pur- 
sued their legal studies. It was but a slight skeleton 
of a course of study, but it was one calculated to 
place a woman in a position of intelligence with 
regard to her relations with her fellow-beings which 
would give her great advantages over other women 
who did not occupy that position. To Gay it was 
all very pleasant ; it helped and satisfied her desire 
to make herself thoroughly well informed and cul- 
tured. To Arthur Thorne it was heaven. 

The weeks passed on, and touches of red and yellow 
began to appear here and there in the foliage, while 
the days became so perceptibly shorter that those 
who drove out in the afternoon frequently came home 
349 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


under the steady light of the evening star. The ac- 
customed intercourse of Stratford and Gay continued 
without a change, except that it now received from 
Mrs. Justin certain favoring impulses which before 
she had not been wont to give it ; and the occasional 
intercourse of Gay and Thorne became more friendly 
and easy, in spite of the absolute want of encourage- 
ment shown to it by Mrs. Justin. 

Had any one appeared in the neighborhood of 
Cherry Bridge, and declared that at any season of 
the year in any part of that country there was the 
slightest trace of malaria, he would probably have 
fared badly. Mrs. People would have been glad to 
scratch the skin from his defaming face, and if no one, 
in fact, should offer to him personal injury, he would 
have been so borne down with contempt and condem- 
nation that he would have yearned to flee to some 
region the pride of whose people in their healthy sur- 
roundings he had not shocked. 

Mrs. Justin was very prudent concerning public 
opinion. Upon no account would she say a word 
against this general belief in the healthfulness of the 
neighborhood. But in her own mind she now began 
to be of the opinion that Gay Armatt was suffering 
from some sort of malarial influence. She was not at 
all the same girl that she was when she came to that 
Cherry Bridge country. Her mental activity was as 
great as ever, but she could now be tired by a 
moderate walk or even a very long drive. There 
were other indications of an unsatisfactory state of 
health, which were not generally noticeable, but 
easily perceived by the quick eye of Mrs. Justin. At 
first she attributed Gay’s apparent decrease in physi- 
350 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


cal stamina to her studies, but she soon gave up that 
idea. The work done by her young friend was not 
enough to injure any healthy person of her years, and 
it was intermingled with constant recreation and out- 
door life. There was something too much of it, and 
it might occasionally have made Gay appear a little 
weary. But the effects of study were not sufficient to 
account for the symptoms Mrs. Justin noticed. 

The village doctor was called in, and he prescribed 
a tonic, but this was of no benefit; and therefore it 
was that Mrs. Justin privately made up her mind that 
there were in the atmosphere malarial influences to 
which Gay was peculiarly susceptible, and that she 
would not be better until she should go away. 

If Gay had moped, or had been low-spirited, or had 
shown any symptoms of retrospective melancholy, 
Mrs. Justin would have attributed her condition to 
the broken engagement. But there was nothing of 
the kind. Gay had behaved admirably after her 
great trial. She had kept up her spirits, and it was 
only in physical action that she showed any decrease 
in strength and activity. This state of mind Mrs. 
Justin attributed in great degree to the influence of 
Mr. Stratford. There was no possible doubt of the 
fact that Gay could not so constantly associate with 
him without discovering by contrast the inferiority 
and unworthiness of the man who had left her. 

Having determined that Gay’s health demanded a 
complete change of scene and air, Mrs. Justin also 
considered it her duty to bring about that change 
without loss of time ; she therefore made the necessary 
preparations to go to her winter home in New York. 
Gay expected at the end of her Cherry Bridge sojourn 
351 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


to spend some time with her relatives in Maryland, 
hut this Mrs. Justin would not allow. The country 
at this season was evidently no place for Gay ; she 
must go to the city. In the course of a week the 
Justin house was closed, and Gay and its owner had 
departed for New York. 

Mr. Thorne had already gone home. He had not 
had so many of those delightful interviews with Gray 
as he would have liked to have, and he had not taught 
her a quarter as much law as he would have wished 
to teach her. But he had seen her frequently, and 
his course had been so well begun that it would be 
easy to take it up at any time ; and, on the whole, 
Mr. Thorne was well satisfied; nay, more, he was 
warmed and exhilarated by his sojourn at Cherry 
Bridge. To give himself this special holiday he had 
broken away from his professional pursuits and had 
left his business in the hands of an associate. But he 
did not in the least reproach himself for this depar- 
ture from his usual habits of life. Nothing could be 
wiser than to give a few weeks to the furtherance of 
an object which was more important to him than any 
other object could possibly be. 

Mr. Stratford remained at the Bullripple farm. 
The weather was still pleasant, and there was no 
reason why he should not stay in the country as long 
as he had hitherto been accustomed to stay. It was 
true that the region seemed more lonely than in 
former years when he had been there by himself, and 
he thought he was a little tired of the country. But 
it would have been ridiculous for him to have hurried 
away after Mrs. Justin and Gay. He promised him- 
self, however, and indeed he had said as much to the 
352 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


ladies, that he would not stay among the mountains 
very long. His promise to himself was partly based on 
conviction that Gay’s future happiness might depend 
in a greater degree on his presence in the city than it 
had lately depended on their companionship out here. 
What sudden exposure to her former peril might 
there occur he did not know. 

One afternoon Stratford came to the fence on the 
top of the eminence from which he and Gay had once 
watched the sunset. He seated himself on the upper 
rail of the fence, and thoughtfully gazed over the 
landscape toward the western sky. Suddenly his eyes 
fell upon two persons emerging from the grove of 
sugar- maples on the level ground beneath him. It 
was Miss Matilda Stull and a gentleman, whom, to his 
astonishment, he speedily recognized as Mr. Crisman. 
They did not come up toward him, but turned away, 
walking along the bottom of the hill. Their very 
intimate manner as they moved away, hand in hand, 
gave assurance that they had not noticed Stratford, 
and the very intimate converse in which they were 
evidently engaged gave good reason for their not 
noticing anything but themselves. 

Stratford could scarcely explain to himself why the 
appearance of these two persons, for whom he had 
such slight regard, should have such a sudden and 
disturbing effect upon him. He had heard from Mrs. 
People that Miss Stull and her mother had returned to 
the farm, but he had known nothing of Crisman 7 s pres- 
ence in the neighborhood. It was simply impossible to 
doubt the relations of these two young persons to each 
other. The expression of their faces, and their whole 
demeanor and action, showed that they were lovers. 

353 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Nothing should have given Stratford greater satis- 
faction than this. If Crisman were in love with that 
young woman down yonder, Gay’s peril was over. 
But, instead of a thrill of pleasure, Stratford felt a 
shock. His soul was filled with a startling conviction 
that his work was done— that he had carried Gay 
Armatt over the gap ! 

Slowly, and without noticing the world beneath his 
feet or the sky above him, Stratford descended from 
the fence and walked homeward. 


354 


CHAPTER XXXI 

The sugar-maples were yet in a glow of crin son, the 
hillsides were yet green, the sunshine was yet warm 
and cheering, when Mr. Stratford announced to Mrs. 
People his intention of returning to his city home. 

“It’s a good deal earlier than you’ve ever gone yet,” 
said she, “an’ I’m very sorry for it. But it’s not to 
be wondered at, for you must find it very lonely here 
with everybody away, an’ even Enoch himself gone 
out West, which is a thing he never did before, an’ 
which I hope won’t end by his becomin’ a emigrant, 
for I’m sure I don’t want to go into any such wild 
country, or indeed into any country at all, except here, 
which I’m sure is a good enough place for anybody ; 
an’ why Enoch shouldn’t be satisfied to stay where 
he is, with everything comfortable around him, an’ 
crops as good as his neighbors’, an’ plenty to eat an’ 
drink, I can’t see for the life of me. If you knew the 
Stull fam’ly, now, they might be some company for 
you; but then, ag’in, I don’t s’pose you could git 
much out of ’em. Old Stull himself has gone back to 
town, an’ the two little girls have gone to school ; 
but that Stull young woman an’ her mother are 
here ag’in, an’, what’s more, that Mr. Crisman, who 
Miss Armatt gave the sack to, is here too, courtin’ 
355 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Miss Matilda as if lie was try in’ to ketch a train. 
Well, well,” continued the good woman, corrugating 
her brow as the memory of broken schemes came to 
her, “ things don’t always turn out as they’re wanted 
to, but I don’t mind sayin’ it to you, Mr. Stratford, 
that if I had ever turned out to be that girl’s mother- 
in-law, I couldn’t have lived with her, which would 
have had its advantages in one way, for then I’d ’a’ 
lived here, an’ not there, which would ’a’ suited me 
better, for I don’t want to leave Enoch, an’ if John 
had got the old place I’d been satisfied an’ asked no 
more; an’ although Mrs. Stull is her own mother, 
the best I can wish for her is that she won’t have to 
live with her, which, considerin’ what kind of a man 
he must be which Miss Gay an’ Mrs. Justin had to 
give his walkin’ -papers to, won’t be exactly what 
people mean when they talk about a heaven on 
earth.” 

When Stratford returned to New York, thoroughly 
convinced of Mr. Crisman’s new attachment, his mind, 
instead of being in a state of certainty and decision, 
was in a condition of very great uncertainty in regard 
to what he would do, and of very great indecision as 
to what he ought to do. Gay being free from Cris- 
man, as she surely was, his appointed work was done ; 
and what excuse could he make to himself for con- 
tinuing that work? That dangerous space over 
which he had proposed to carry the young fellow- 
being in whom he had taken so great an interest had 
proved narrower than he had supposed it would be, 
and was already crossed. The vision of Arthur 
Thorne standing on the opposite bank proved this. 
Whatever might or might not happen to Gay from 
356 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Thorne’s love of her, the girl had no present need of 
Horace Stratford. 

This was all clear and plain enough, and yet Strat- 
ford did not say to himself that, his work being done, 
he would step aside. “I will see her first,” he thought, 
“and then I will decide upon my plan of action.” 

The next morning after his arrival in the city, he 
went to Mrs. Justin’s house. Gay had gone out, but 
Mrs. Justin was delighted to see him. 

“I was afraid,” she said, “that this fine weather 
would keep you in the country, and it is very en- 
couraging to see you make your appearance so soon. 
And as for Gay, I am glad to say that her condition 
is improved. To be sure, she eats very little, she is 
easily tired, and she will not take medicines, but since 
she came to the city she is brighter and shows more 
interest in things. And I am quite sure,” said Mrs. 
Justin, looking steadfastly at Stratford, “that your 
exchange of the pleasures of the autumnal season for 
premature town life will have a beneficial effect upon 
her.” 

There was point to this remark, for Stratford was 
an earnest sportsman, and it had hitherto been his 
custom to invite some of his friends to Cherry Bridge 
during the shooting season. 

“I shall be very glad,” said he, “if in any way I 
can be of benefit to Miss Armatt.” 

“Don’t be so cold and formal ! ” exclaimed the lady. 
“Why not look at the matter in a natural and sen- 
sible light? Gay has missed you, and will be ever so 
glad to meet you again, and you know that I shall be 
more than glad to see you together again. Do you know 
why she is brighter and more cheerful than she was? ” 
357 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“On account of the change to the city air, I suppose,” 
he answered. “That is often of as much advantage 
as change to country air.” 

“It is nothing of the sort,” said Mrs. Justin. “As 
soon as I decided that she was to come with me to 
town and not to make her expected visit to Maryland, 
she began to brighten. I know she wants to see her 
sister, but I also know that she wishes very much 
more to be with you, and if she had gone home she 
probably would have stayed there until she began her 
post- collegiate course. But now that her health 
obliges her to be here with me, and, consequently, 
with you, her conscience is satisfied, and she is hap- 
pier.” 

Stratford made no reply, but turned to a window 
and looked out. 

“Of course you have heard,” said Mrs. Justin, after 
a short silence, “that Mr. Crisman is paying attention 
to Miss Stull. I had the news from Mrs. People, who 
wrote to me about my winter supply of poultry, and 
inserted the item as a bit of flavoring. She says he 
is there every week.” 

“I have heard that,” said Stratford. 

“I must admit,” continued the lady, “that when I 
received this news I was mortified that a man could 
so quickly turn from our Gay to Matilda Stull. And 
yet, upon thinking it over, I believe we ought to 
feel rather satisfied than otherwise. Knowing as I 
do that Mr. Crisman is totally unworthy of Gay, I 
cannot but feel somewhat pleased that he has been 
able to compensate himself for any injury he may 
imagine he received at our hands.” 

Mrs. Justin arose and stood beside Stratford. “Our 


358 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


old ships are now all behind us, and burnt,” she said, 
“and I pray for the most favoring winds to fill the 
new sails which shall bring Gay and you together. 
Now, don’t say anything ! That is one of the remarks 
to which no answer is required.” 

When Stratford called the next day he was received 
by Gay in the library, a room which Mrs. Justin now 
almost entirely surrendered to her young friend. 
The light from the high, wide window fell full upon 
the young girl as she arose, bright-eyed, to greet her 
visitor. When Gay reseated herself upon the soft- 
cushioned chair, the action showed a change in her 
which was instantly noticed by Stratford. The Gay 
Armatt of the old days at Cherry Bridge had never 
reclined. She was a girl who sat up straight, who 
moved quickly, whose presence suggested youthful 
vigor and activity. 

Stratford drew a low chair near her and placed it 
so that he could face her as they talked. Whatever 
might be her present lack of strength or vitality, it 
had not affected her beauty. Never had she seemed 
so charming to the eyes of Stratford. Her morning 
dress of blue may have relieved the delicate color in 
her cheek and brought out the pure whiteness of her 
neck and wrists, and the happy light in her eyes may 
have given something of its brightness to the smile 
upon her perfect lips, and even her unwonted languor 
may have infused new grace into that half- reclining 
figure ; but, whatever were the reasons, Stratford 
now sat before a woman whose beauty fully satisfied 
him. He had always given due appreciation to 
Gay’s personal attractions, but heretofore he had felt 
that there was something wanting, some little touch, 
359 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

lie knew not what. That touch had now been 
given. 

“Do you see this?” said Gay, holding up a book 
which had been lying open and face downward upon 
a little table at her side. “Perhaps you are not 
familiar with this style of literature. It is what is 
popularly called a novel.” 

“I am very familiar with novels,” said Stratford, 
“and I have read that one.” 

“And I have read those,” said Gay, pointing to a 
pile of books on the floor by the window, “and all of 
them in a little more than a week. I expected that 
by this time I should be working away in superheated 
mathematics and that sort of thing, but Mrs. Justin 
has put an interdict on study. I do scarcely anything 
but read novels and look at clothes. Whenever we 
go out we always go to shops, and although we don’t 
buy much, we have all sorts of things spread out and 
wonder how they would look made up. Mrs. Justin 
says that clothes-cogitation is very restful to the 
mind.” 

“Does your mind need rest? ” asked Stratford. 

“I don’t know,” said Gay. “My body seems to 
need a good deal of it, and Mrs. Justin says I must 
show no favoritism; one must have just what the 
other gets. You see, I have given up thinking for 
myself ; Mrs. Justin does that for me now.” 

“I did not suppose,” said Stratford, “that you would 
ever allow any one to do your thinking for you.” 

“Oh, dear me!” exclaimed Gay, “you don’t know 
how nice it is ! You ought to try it. By the way,” 
she added, with a quick start of animation, “will you 
let me do some thinking for you ? ” 

360 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“It will be something entirely novel to me,” said 
Stratford, “and I should like it as a bit of experience.” 

“Well, then,” said Gay, “please empty your mind 
of everything in it, and I will fill it for you. You 
are now thinking as follows : Here is a girl, or I 
should say a young woman, who is not feeling so 
much like an English sparrow as she did during the 
summer, but is quite as well and quite as strong as a 
good many people who work, or study, or slave in all 
sorts of ways all day long, and a great part of the 
night besides. She has a friend, a dear friend, who is 
one of the noblest women on earth, and who is quite 
as good and lovely as it is possible for any woman to 
be, but who has, in spite of all this, a blot upon her 
character. This is that she is too kind. It is a white 
blot, and a very beautiful one to look at, but still it 
is a blot, and it interferes with her ability to make 
the young person I am thinking of do what she ought 
to do. She lets this white blot spread itself over her 
sober judgment and several of her other good qualities, 
and she tells this young person that she must not do 
anything all day that is in the least bit like work or 
study. Now, I know this is all wrong. That girl 
would be a great deal happier, and it would be ever 
so much better for her in every way, if she were to 
shut up the novel she is reading, and stop short with- 
out knowing what happens next or how it ends, and 
apply herself to matters that are of importance and 
value ; if she takes up again those things which are 
the real object of her life she will become as much 
interested in them as she used to be, and will pay no 
attention to those little tired feelings which soon grow 
up into incurable laziness if one is not very careful. 

361 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

Now, I shall talk to that young person and make her 
see these things as I do. I don’t think it will be at 
all difficult. I shall tell her that if she continues in 
her present indolent condition she will get rusty in 
the studies she has been working at this summer, and 
if she goes backward, instead of keeping straight on, 
as I am sure her soul is longing to do, I really do not 
know what will become of her. I am quite certain 
she will take my advice, because she has the greatest 
confidence in my judgment. And indeed, considering 
how I have helped her and counselled her, and in all 
sorts of ways been of the greatest good and service to 
her, she must be horribly stupid if she doesn’t know by 
this time that what I advise she ought to do. There 
is another reason, too, why I should advise her. If I 
sit and look at her reading novels and neglecting her 
duties and cultivating habits of laziness, and say noth- 
ing about it, I shall make her think that, though I 
must disapprove of what she is doing, I am keeping 
quiet merely because she is not quite well and ought 
to be treated like a child or an invalid. Now, I 
know this will grieve her very much, and so I shall 
speak out and tell her she ought to take up her 
work just where she put it down when she left Cherry 
Bridge, and I shall also tell her that when I can— 
that is to say, of course, not so often as I used to do 
in the country, but at times when it will not interfere 
with anything else I want to do— I will come and 
help her, and give her little hints about all sorts of 
things, just as I did when we were in the country 
together. And now, sir,” said Gay, who by this time 
was sitting up straight in her chair, her face slightly 
flushed and every trace of languor gone, “how do you 
like your train of thought? ” 

362 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


While Gay had been speaking Stratford had sat 
gazing upon her. He had heard nearly all she had 
said, but some phrases here and there had escaped his 
attention, because his mind was so busily at work for 
itself. “Do I love this beautiful girl? ” he asked him- 
self, as Gay’s words gave to his mind a vision of one 
who extends her hands to a friend without intending 
or knowing that those outstretched arms may, instead, 
receive a lover. 

As Stratford thus sat, thinking and listening, one 
of his arms hung over the side of his low chair, and, 
as he unconsciously moved his hand, his fingers touched 
a bow of ribbon on one of the folds of Gay’s dress 
which lay upon the floor. Entirely unnoticed by her, 
he took an end of the ribbon between his thumb and 
finger and gently held and pressed it. This was on 
Gay ; it was a part of her ; it was a link between him 
and that beautiful creature flushing and warming 
before him. Through that bit of blue ribbon might 
pass an electric thrill which should change his being 
and make him blind to extended hands, seeing only 
outstretched arms. 

He crumpled the ribbon in his fingers. His blood 
flowed quicker and his eye grew brighter. “I could 
love her,” he said to himself. 

Gay went on talking. She was making him know 
now how much she depended on him, and how de- 
sirous she was for his society. She was sitting erect, 
and therefore nearer to him, but her eyes were fixed 
upon his face, and she knew not that he held her 
ribbon. “I could love her,” he repeated to himself. 
Then his mind stopped, and began to work backward. 
“But if I do love her,” he thought, “I shall never 
love myself again. I have sworn I would do this 
363 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


thing, and that I would go through it without blame 
or blemish ; and, to me, the purest love of this girl 
would be blame and blemish.” 

He dropped the ribbon from between his fingers, 
and placed his hand upon the arm of his chair. 

“And now, sir,” said Gay, “how do you like your 
train of thought t ” 

Stratford answered slowly. “I am not sure,” he 
said, “but that it might be of advantage for you to 
take up your studies again ; at least, to a moderate 
extent. At any rate, as you so much desire it, it may 
be well to make the trial. Of course I shall be much 
pleased to drop in here from time to time and give 
you all the assistance that I can.” 

Then, after some inquiries in regard to Mrs. Justin, 
and some messages for her, he took leave of Gay, and 
went away with a cold face and a hot and troubled 
heart. 

“My work is done,” he said to himself. “Yes,” he 
reasserted, as he clinched his fist, “it is done, done, 
done ! ” 

When Mrs. Justin returned home, she disapproved 
entirely of what Gay told her Mr. Stratford had 
advised. Indeed, she spoke a little petulantly about 
it. “I cannot imagine what he could have been 
thinking of,” she said. “Instead of being well enough 
to study, you seem to me to be less able to endure 
any sort of work than you were some days ago. I 
shall allow no studying ; you may be sure of that.” 

Gay was lying back in the library chair, her novel 
in her lap, open at the same pages which had been 
turned down on the table when Stratford had left her 
an hour before. “You mustn’t find fault with Mr. 

364 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Stratford,” she said. “I advised him to advise me as 
he did, and I told him I hoped he would sometimes 
come and help me in the old way. He said he would, 
and I don’t think he minded the trouble at all. I 
don’t think he minded much either way. He is 
always very good.” 

“Gay,” said Mrs. Justin, “have you been talking a 
very great deal ? Why do you close your eyes in that 
way while you speak to me ? ” 

“I don’t know,” said Gay. “I can’t explain exactly 
how I feel. I am not hungry : I can’t think of any- 
thing in particular that I care for. I have been try- 
ing to rouse myself up by thinking how I am wasting 
my time, but I don’t believe I care just now whether 
I am wasting my time or not. I don’t know exactly 
why, but this world seems to me an aimless sort of 
place.” 

Mrs. Justin gazed tenderly and kindly on the face 
of her young friend. “But it would be an easy matter, 
my dear, to make it a world full of purpose.” 

“I suppose so,” answered Gay, closing her eyes 
again as she languidly clasped her hands above her 
head. 


365 


CHAPTER XXXII 

Vatoldi’s was now enjoying what might be called a 
regenerated success. The total cessation of business 
during the alterations had given the public time to 
forget all about the boycotting troubles as well as the 
decadence of the establishment during the administra- 
tion of Enoch Bullripple, while the great improve- 
ments now seen in the restaurant brought it not only 
its old customers but an abundance of new ones. The 
cooks, in their caps, baked, boiled, and broiled with 
enthusiasm and content ; the waiters, in their jackets 
and aprons, gave solicitous attention to the desires of 
every comer ; and John People stood behind his new 
desk, with his form as round, his carriage as upright, 
and his hair as smoothly brushed as of yore. But 
upon his brow there was more of cheerfulness and less 
of resignation. Some of this change arose from the 
fact that John was now a partner in the concern— a 
partner in a very small degree, in fact, but still a 
partner; and it was not necessary to be so much 
resigned when what he did was partly for his own 
benefit. It is probable, although John would not 
have admitted it, that his increase of cheerfulness 
was due in a very great part to his total loss of Ma- 
tilda Stull. John’s attachment to this young lady 
366 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


had been very wearing upon him. When hope lent 
him no assistance his progress was slow and painful, 
and when she gave him a helping hand she carried 
him along entirely too fast ; he lost his breath, his legs 
became weak. It was well for him that he was stopped 
in time ; now his breath was full and regular, his pace 
moderate, and his legs were strong. 

There was a new refrigerator, and in one corner 
there frequently stood a plate containing a plump, fat 
mutton chop, a piece of tenderloin, or a choice veal 
cutlet; seldom did it hold a sweetbread or bit of 
dainty game, for Miss Burns was the owner of a 
vigorous appetite and a moderate purse. This young 
lady was now an habitual customer of Vatoldi 7 s. 
There was something about the place which made a 
meal in any other restaurant extremely unsatisfactory 
to her ; and if, for any reason, a day passed without 
her coming there, John was sure to drop in at the 
store and inquire about her health. 

Miss Burns enjoyed more than the ordinary advan- 
tages of Vatoldi’s, for John made it his business to 
see that her preference for that place was not detri- 
mental to her fortune. From the amount due on the 
little bill which she presented to him he invariably 
deducted a certain percentage. To this the young 
lady frequently demurred and shook her head ; but 
John, who had always something else to do, and who 
was not in the habit of talking much to customers at 
the desk, passed over her objections with a smile and 
gave his attention to the something else. Miss Burns 
would have demurred still more had she known that 
John never failed to make up the deficit in her pay- 
ments out of his own pocket. She ought to have sup- 
367 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


posed this, but young ladies who are thinking of 
Johns do not always think of everything else. 

The time came, however, when John felt that he 
must explain this financial method ,• and one evening, 
when the diners at Vatoldi’s had all finished their 
meals, he called on Miss Burns at her boarding-house. 

“I am sorry / 7 said John, when he had explained 
the object of his visit, “that you ever thought it worth 
while to say anything about those little discounts, for 
the matter is really of no consequence at all. You 
see, I have a share in the business . 77 

“Oh, yes , 77 said Miss Burns, “I always supposed that . 77 

“Yes , 77 said John, “and people have thought I 
owned a good deal bigger part of it than is really the 
truth. But that 7 s neither here nor there, and don’t hurt 
anybody. Now, it is to my interest to make the 
restaurant as pleasant a place as I can to everybody, 
and if I have any particular friend who finds it con- 
venient to come there, I’m sure I ought to make it 
pleasant for her. And I leave it to yourself to say if 
it is not pleasanter to feel that you’re partly taking 
lunch with a friend— not entirely, for perhaps you 
wouldn’t do that, but partly— than to always sit down 
to an out-and-out bought meal ? 77 

Miss Burns was crocheting an afghan. It was a 
good-sized one, big enough to cover a lounge which 
would be long enough for a gentleman to lie down 
upon. She got the wools at cost price from the store 
in which she was employed, and could, therefore, 
afford to make a fine, large afghan. It had three plain 
dark-green stripes, and two Roman stripes of bright 
and variegated colors. She was working on one of 
the Roman stripes now. 


368 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“That would be very nice/ 7 she said, “if one came 
to visit, but then you know I don’t come to visit you.” 

John was about to ask, “Not even partly?” but, 
being a slow speaker, he had time to think that it 
would not do to intimate anything like that. 

“And you know,” continued Miss Burns, working a 
thread of dark blue into her stripe, “that it isn’t right 
to have a gentleman regularly giving you things, 
especially your daily food ; though, of course, you 
only do it partly 5 but that is what it comes to.” 

John passed his hand over his brow, and then, turn- 
ing his chair so as more directly to face Miss Burns, 
he put his right elbow upon the table at which they 
sat, and, intently gazing into her face as he spoke, he 
said : “I am sorry your mind is made up in such a 
way that you don’t like to accept a little hospitality 
from a friend, not because of what it is, for it really 
amounts to nothing at all, but only because it comes 
regular. But what would you say to a friend who 
would give you not only part of your lunch, but all 
of it? And not only your lunch, but your breakfast 
and dinner, and a supper too if you were inclined 
that way ; and not only week-days, but Sundays, and 
every day $ and who would give you, besides, every 
frock you wore, your shoes, your bonnets, gloves, 
umbrellas, and trimmings, and everything needful 
from hair-pins to cloaks?” 

As John spoke thus, Miss Burns’s complexion, which 
was usually a little pallid, began to assume the hue of 
some pale-pink wool which lay in her basket, but she 
did not speak, nor look up from her work, and John 
went on : 

“And what would you say if, every time you 
369 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

•wanted anything, whether it was to wear, or to eat, 
or to use in a house, or for sickness or health, or for 
journeys, or for friends in trouble, or for your own 
pleasures and joys and comforts, you went to this 
friend and you took them from him ? ” 

Miss Burns’s complexion had been gradually chang- 
ing from the color of the pink wool to that of a ball 
of ashen-gray hue which also lay in the basket. A 
sickening fear came over her that she might have 
mistaken the significance of John’s words. 

“Do you mean Providence?” she asked. 

“No, me,” said John. 

The color of the brightest scarlet in Miss Burns’s 
basket now flushed into her face. “That would be 
very nice,” she presently said 5 and no Berlin wool 
could be softer than her tone. 

John People was a straightforward man of busi- 
ness with a conscience, and when everything had been 
satisfactorily arranged between Miss Burns and him- 
self, he deemed it his duty to inform his principal 
that he was going to be married. Seldom before had 
Mr. Stull been so thoroughly angry. John had been 
forgiven for the sins of his uncle and had been again 
taken into dignified favor, but the vile and treacher- 
ous action which he now proposed raised against him 
the wildest storm of Mr. Stull’s indignation. What 
would a secret be worth— an overwhelmingly impor- 
tant secret — in the hands of a newly married man ? 
With John as a bachelor — and Mr. Stull expected 
that his sense of honor and duty to his employer 
would keep him such— the secret was safe ; but with 
a young wife secrecy might as well be blown to the 
370 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


winds and the hank president advertise in the daily 
papers that he was prepared to furnish the public 
with refreshments at his restaurant known as Vatoldi’s. 
John’s intentions might be honorable, but his wife 
would worm the secret out of him, and the world 
would soon know all. Better that John should die 
than marry ! Had Mr. Stull lived two hundred years 
before, he would have slain his manager on the spot. 

This blow to Mr. Stull was aggravated by the fact 
that his mind was beginning to assume its normal con- 
dition of august tranquillity. All his branches of 
business were now proceeding to his entire satisfac- 
tion, and Enoch Bullripple, the only present thorn in 
his side, promised soon to become an insignificant 
prickle. The Western heirs of the Cherry Bridge 
farms had been informed of the nature of their claims, 
and Mr. Turby, who desired to act as their agent as 
well as that of Mr. Stull, had written to them that 
there was every reason to believe that the matter 
could be settled with but little loss of time, and the 
sale of the property ordered for the benefit of the 
heirs. Mr. Stull’s plans were all made. He would 
buy both farms, not in his own name, but in that of 
a Mineral Development Company which he would 
organize. In the course of time this purchase would 
probably prove a good investment. Enoch Bullripple 
would be ejected from the farm he now held, but, as 
he possessed Mr. Stull’s secret, his subsequent treat- 
ment must be very prudently managed. Mr. Stull 
owned some Western lands, and he would sell Enoch 
Bullripple a small tract of these, securing himself by 
mortgage. He would then, if necessary, assist the old 
man to go out there and settle. The motive for this 
371 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


great generosity would be ascribed to Mr. Stull’s in- 
terest in John People. With Enoch Bullripple out 
in Idaho, and under obligation, Mr. Stull would feel 
that he had punished the cunning villany of the old 
farmer without endangering his secret. 

But now John’s announcement had banished every 
trace of august tranquillity. Mr. Stull’s anger almost 
overcame him. Anathemas, reproaches, and denun- 
ciations crowded to his lips, but in the midst of his 
indignation he felt the necessity for prudence. Even 
so faithful a worm as John might turn. 

“I shall say nothing to you now,” he growled ; “I 
will speak about this another time.” 

It would have been utterly impossible for Miss 
Matilda Stull to choose a more unsuitable moment 
than the evening of that day in which to announce 
to her father her engagement to Mr. Crisman. Mr. 
Stull was in the library of his spacious city mansion, 
a room furnished with everything that the library of 
a gentleman of wealth and culture should contain. 
The books on the shelves were most admirably selected, 
many of them being imported expressly for Mr. Stull, 
as he declined to introduce reprints into his library. 
The furniture was heavy and elegant. The walls, the 
floors, the windows, showed that the room had been 
furnished with thoughtful taste. Even those things 
with which a gentleman solaces himself in the inter- 
vals of study were not forgotten : on a pair of stag’s 
horns over the mantelpiece hung several handsome 
pipes, and an Eastern jar filled with tobacco stood 
beneath them; through the glass doors of a buffet 
which stood in a corner could be seen decanters and 
glasses ; and between two framed engravings of hunt- 
372 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


ing scenes hung a pair of fencing-foils and wire masks ; 
while from a nickel-plated hook was suspended flat 
against the wall a large hammock of rare and beauti- 
ful workmanship which might be stretched to another 
nickel-plated hook in the opposite wall. 

Yet, in spite of all these appurtenances of elegant 
and comfortable studiousness, this was a room to be 
looked at, but not used. Mr. Stull was content to 
own his books ; he did not care to read them, and the 
cases were always locked. He did not smoke, and 
the pipes on the stag’s horns had never been used. 
He tasted wine or spirits only on rare occasions, and 
not a drop of their contents had ever been poured 
from the decanters in his buffet. He was not a fencer, 
and the foils and masks were fastened to the wall. 
He was a man who did not lounge, and the ham- 
mock on the hook was never stretched to the opposite 
wall. The room was furnished so as to appear as Mr. 
Stull thought a gentleman’s library and study ought 
to appear, but he used no part of it except a small 
table under a gas-light, with a drawer in which he 
kept writing materials, and a leather- covered chair 
which always stood before it. 

In this chair and at this table sat Mr. Stull when 
his daughter entered the room. Paper lay before 
him and he had a pen in his hand, but he was not 
writing ; he was savagely thinking, and endeavoring 
to form a plan of action in regard to John People. 
Miss Matilda saw that her father was in a very bad 
humor, and yet she did not hesitate in her purpose. 
She had not come to ask anything of her august 
parent ; she had come to tell him something. 

Mr. Stull looked up darkly, and encountered the 
373 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

somewhat petite but extremely well-formed features 
of Miss Matilda, upon which an expression of calm 
determination seemed to have been set and screwed. 
Without a preface, and with no sign of embarrassment, 
she briefly announced the fact that she and Mr. 
Charles Crisman, now in business in the mercan- 
tile house of Irkton, Perrysteer & Co., had made an 
engagement to marry each other. 

Mr. Stull pushed back his chair with an impreca- 
tion which seldom fell from his dignified lips. “ What 
do you mean ? ” he exclaimed. 

“I mean exactly what I have said,” answered his 
daughter Matilda. 

Now rose J. Weatherby Stull in his wrath. In one 
day two persons, wholly dependent on him for every- 
thing they had in the world, had come to him and 
declared their intention of making unlawful marriages 
—for to him a marriage against his will was unlawful. 
To the first offender he had, as yet, said nothing or 
done nothing ; but in this case no caution, no pru- 
dence, was necessary, and he launched upon his 
daughter the paternal thunder. He bade her never 
to mention again to him this stranger of whom she 
had spoken. He forbade her ever to speak to, or to 
write to, or even to think of, said stranger ; he or- 
dered her to her room, there to remain until he had 
determined how she should be punished, and where 
she should be sent to be cured of this most unnatural, 
most disrespectful, and most atrocious folly. 

Miss Stull declined to do any of these things. 

Mr. Stull arose. “Do you wish me to take you by 
force to your room? Am I to be driven crazy by 
members of my family and by hirelings? Am I to 
374 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


hear twice a day that these dependents upon me 
intend, without my permission and against my will, 
to marry ? ” 

“Was the other one John People f” asked Miss 
Matilda. 

Mr. Stull sat down as if he had been shot. 

“John People ! ” he gasped. “What is he to me!” 

“He manages your restaurant,’ 7 calmly replied his 
daughter, “and I have reason to believe that he wants 
to marry.” 

Mr. Stull sat and looked steadfastly at his daughter. 
Not a word did he speak and, it might almost be said, 
not a thought did he think. His involuntary muscles 
and functions went on with their work, but every 
faculty, physical or mental, over which he ordinarily 
exercised volition was at a standstill. In only one 
way did he give any evidence of his ordinary reason- 
ing powers. He presently turned to look toward the 
library door. 

“Oh, that’s all right,” said Miss Matilda. “I shut 
it when I came in. I intended to speak of this res- 
taurant business before long,” she went on to say, 
“and I may as well do it now as at any other time, 
for it is a matter which concerns Mr. Crisman and 
myself as much as it does you. I began to suspect 
you had something to do with Vatoldi’s when you 
used so often to urge mother and me to go there, and 
made a point of it especially on those days when you 
knew we were going shopping with the carriage. 
Mother never thought anything about it, but it struck 
me that you wouldn’t take so much interest in a place 
of that sort if you didn’t make something out of it. 
At first I supposed you had merely put some money 
375 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

into the concern, but I got into the habit of watching 
you when you were sitting in your regular place at 
the upper end of the room where you could see every- 
thing, and if ever a man looked like the proprietor 
of an establishment, you looked like the proprietor of 
Vatoldi’s. I remember one day that two young men 
came in and sat down with their hats on, and John 
People was so busy he didn’t see them ; but you looked 
at him just as you look at our two little girls in 
church, and the instant he caught your eye you told 
him, just as plainly as if you had spoken, to attend to 
those two men, which he immediately did. And then, 
when the strike began there, and the boycotting, and 
all that sort of thing, and I saw how you were 
troubled, that stamped and sealed the matter in my 
mind. I knew very well you would never concern 
nor worry yourself so much about a business that 
didn’t belong to you. Still I didn’t know whether 
you were only a partner or sole proprietor ; but when 
I saw John People up in the country this summer, I 
asked him if the restaurant belonged to one person 
or a firm, and he answered, ‘ One person,’ and imme- 
diately changed the conversation. He had no idea 
what his words meant to me, but he might just as 
well have said, ‘Your father is the proprietor.’ I 
kept this little bit of knowledge entirely to myself, 
knowing it would be of use some day. I think it is 
the first really valuable possession I ever acquired 
entirely by my own exertions, and I am sure it comes 
in very well now. If you had not shown so much 
objection to my marriage with Mr. Crisman I should 
not have mentioned it at present. But I should have 
spoken of it before long, so it does not matter. I 
376 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


won’t say anything more this evening, but will leave 
yon to think over the subject of my engagement. I 
will say, though, that Mr. Crisman is a very genteel 
and stylish young gentleman, and that mother is en- 
tirely satisfied with him. You know the house he is 
in is one of the best in the city, and there isn’t a 
speck of fault of any kind to be found with him. As 
to money, he can make it fast enough if he is properly 
helped.” 

With this remark Miss Matilda left the room. 

What was in Mr. Stull’s mind during the next three 
days nobody knew. Even his wife, although she saw 
that the soul of her consort was a storm-center of 
passion, heard nothing from him except an occasional 
thunder clap of indignation concerning her complicity 
in Matilda’s engagement. That there was some reason 
greater than this for the wrath that raged within him 
was plain enough to her, but she had no idea what it 
was, and her daughter would not tell her. 

To Miss Matilda her father spoke not a word dur- 
ing this period. He ignored her. He did not even 
look at her. In fact, he had very little to say to any 
one. When he was at home he shut himself up for 
the greater part of the time in his library, and when 
John came to him at the bank he spoke as few words 
as possible, and made no allusion to his manager’s 
intended marriage. John was content to wait awhile 
for his employer’s decision, but he had determined, 
no matter what the decision might be, that he would 
marry Miss Burns. 

But Matilda was of a different turn of mind. She 
was not willing to wait more than three days for a 
decision concerning her affairs. At the end of that 
377 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


time she went to her father’s study, where she knew 
he had shut himself up. When she entered she closed 
the door quickly behind her and stood by it, her hand 
still on the knob. Her father, on seeing her, sprang so 
suddenly to his feet that he nearly overturned the 
table before him. 

“Now, don’t shout out anything, father,” she said, 
“for old Miss Manderson is in the parlor with mother, 
and if you begin that way I shall open the door, and 
if she hears you abusing your daughter the whole 
church will soon know it. As you won’t speak to me, 
I have come to speak to you. I have been thinking 
over this matter, and I have worked out in my mind 
the very best things that you can do. In the first 
place, you must give up that restaurant business ; it 
isn’t fair to me, nor to Mr. Crisman, nor to mother 
and the girls, nor to yourself, for that matter, that 
you should keep it any longer. The secret is sure to 
be found out, and very soon if John People gets 
married, which I know he will, and think he ought 
to, besides, for the young woman is very suitable. I 
have bought things of her several times in order to 
find out what sort of person she is. If that restaurant 
matter is made public while you are still in the busi- 
ness it will ruin us all as far as society is concerned, 
and you have no right to bring anything of that kind 
upon Mr. Crisman and me, to say nothing of your wife 
and two young daughters. I don’t want to seem hard, 
but I have got to speak the truth. If it is found out 
after you are out of the business it will be bad enough, 
but it will be a different affair. I know very well 
that in this city it doesn’t matter much what a man 
has been, but it matters very much indeed what he is. 

378 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


You can sell out either to John People or to some- 
body else, and take a mortgage on what he can’t pay 
cash for, so you will still have an income from the 
place without having anything to do with it. And 
the sooner you get rid of it, the safer and better it 
will be for us all.” 

During this speech Mr. Stull had remained stand- 
ing, and at two or three points his lips and face had 
moved as if the provocation to speak had been stronger 
than the resolution he had taken to hold no converse 
with this unnatural daughter ; but, as was usually the 
case with him, his resolution triumphed, and he re- 
mained sternly silent. No one but his daughter 
Matilda could have forced a communication of any 
kind upon him, but he knew well that unless he were 
willing to take the consequences of a very disagreeable 
scene,— which he was not,— he would be obliged to 
listen to her. 

There was another reason why, in spite of the rage 
which boiled within him, he stood and listened to his 
daughter, he was keenly interested in what she was 
saying. 

Miss Matilda continued : “As for Mr. Crisman and 
me, the best thing to do is to consider that matter as 
settled, because, having made up my mind to marry 
him, of course I shall do it. If you ever intend to 
give me any money at all, there can be no better way 
to do it than to let Mr. Crisman have it and put it 
into his business and be made a partner. He told me 
that the ‘Co.’ is composed of persons belonging to the 
house who have been taken in, in that way, and he 
says a partnership is open to him whenever he has 
the money. That will not only help me to become a 
379 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


rich woman, but will also give me a position in 
society, for being the wife of a partner in a leading 
mercantile firm is very different from being the wife 
of a mere salesman. And you know that my position 
in society will be as much to you and all the family 
as it is to me. That is all I have to say, and if you 
have made up your mind not to speak to me for a 
week, I don’t object to waiting for the three or four 
days that are left ; but if it is for a longer time than 
that, you’d better write to me what you decide to do. 
And now I’ll go and send somebody to see if she 
can clean the carpet of that ink which you didn’t 
know you spilled when you jumped up so suddenly.” 


380 


CHAPTER XXXIII 


On several occasions, moderately near each other, Mr. 
Stratford went to see Gay Armatt, and together they 
took up the old books and studies. But the reading 
and the discussing did not go on in the old way. Gay 
had lost her interest in her work and in her future, 
and seemed to have forgotten that she had had aspira- 
tions. If study did not actually tire her or bore her, 
at least the earnest enthusiasm with which she used 
to pursue it was entirely gone. Stratford was not 
slow to see this, and gradually, and always with suffi- 
cient reason, he lengthened the intervals between his 
visits to Gay j and then, taking advantage of standing 
invitations from some of his old friends, he went on a 
visit of a few weeks to Boston and Cambridge. 

He was glad to go. Not only did he tell himself 
that his work with Gay was done, but she now told 
him, though not in words, that such work as he had 
been doing was done. The friends whom he visited 
did not find him quite the lively companion he used 
to be, and this proved to them that summers and 
autumns spent in quiet, sparsely settled mountain 
regions are not beneficial to the spirits of a man. 
One afternoon in Cambridge he was invited to attend 
a Thursday tea given by the young ladies of the Har- 
381 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


yard Annex, which invitation he promptly declined. 
The friend who had proposed to accompany him was 
much surprised. 

“I thought you took an interest in the higher edu- 
cation of girls/’ she said, “and would like to see what 
we are doing at the Annex.” 

“That is all very true in the past tense,” he 
answered, “but you really cannot expect a person 
always to take the same interest in a thing.” 

Mr. Arthur Thorne, however, made it a point to 
visit at Mrs. Justin’s house as often as he could find 
any reasonable excuse for so doing. He saw a good 
deal of Gay, and, in a measure, his society interested 
her. He gave her no law lessons, nor did he talk 
upon any subject fifteen seconds after he fancied that 
she had lost interest in it, striving always to find out 
what would best please her. He was often able to 
engage her attention pleasantly, and after a time she 
became rather glad to see him. Every day he grew 
more and more in love with her, but of this Gay knew 
nothing. Had she been any one but herself, or even 
had she been truly herself, she might have seen it, 
but just now her mental as well as her physical powers 
were working slowly and feebly. 

Mrs. Justin perceived plainly enough that Thorne’s 
love for Gay was becoming devotion, and this knowl- 
edge greatly troubled her. But there was nothing 
for her to do. She could not, with any show of 
reason, throw obstacles in the way of the young man’s 
visits, for she had no right to constitute herself the 
guardian of Mr. Stratford’s interests, and these in- 
terests formed the only possible reason why Arthur 
Thorne’s course should in any way be obstructed. If 
382 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


she could have used obstacles at all, they would have 
been piled up in the present path of Mr. Stratford, 
who was wandering away from what was most desir- 
able, just, and right, not only for himself, but for Gay, 
and even for poor Mr. Thorne, who was blindly and 
ardently striving for something which she was quite 
certain he could never possess. 

One afternoon when Mr. Thorne called he was told 
that Miss Armatt was not well and was confined to 
her room ; and the next day and the next, and a good 
many days afterwards, and often several times a day, 
he came and made inquiries, but he could not see 
her. 

There was something the matter with Gay, believed 
to be malarial, which greatly prostrated her, but the 
disease was one in which the attending physician 
found very little of what might be called pronuncia- 
tion. The malaria, which is so generally believed to 
be at the bottom of all disorders which do not assume 
definite and recognizable forms, declined to put forth 
any point which might advantageously be laid hold 
of. To add to this difficulty in the way of the phy- 
sician, Gay would do nothing to assist him. All his 
appeals for cooperation on her part were totally 
unavailing. Food, medicine, and other agents for 
restoring health and strength had proved of so little 
service that, after having lost her interest in them, she 
seemed also to have lost interest in the effect they 
were designed to produce. 

Mrs. Justin gave up all other pursuits of her life 
and devoted herself to the nursing of Gay. The 
relatives in Maryland were written to, and the mar- 
ried sister came to the city, but was obliged soon to 
383 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


return to her home and her family of small children. 
Other doctors were called in to consult with Gray’s 
attending physician, but still that sly, cunning, and 
malicious malaria refused to come forth from the 
roots of Gay’s energy and life, among which it ap- 
peared to have intwined and intrenched itself. 

Stratford came home from Boston, and on him fell 
not only the heavy weight of sorrow at the sad condi- 
tion of his young friend, but sundry sharp stings from 
his own conscience and an amount of reproach and 
condemnation from Mrs. Justin for which he was not 
at all prepared. The time had passed, she believed, 
for ordinary censure or admonition. Stratford ought 
to be made to feel that on him alone depended Gay’s 
restoration to health. 

“ Whatever else is the matter with Gay,” she said, 
“I believe that her life is now ebbing away from her 
because she does not care for it. This world is empty 
to her. You made it empty, and you can fill it. 
Even now, if you become to her what you used to 
be, and give her the hopes which I am sure you once 
gave her, I believe she will want to live.” 

Stratford was much moved. “I cannot believe,” 
he said, “that what you say is true. But even if it 
were true, and Gay’s life depended on me, I could 
not save her as you propose without being false to her 
and false to myself.” 

Mrs. Justin looked almost angrily at him for a 
moment. “Then,” she said, “you should not have 
taken from her the man who did love her.” 

Stratford walked home, his heart chilled and pained. 
The first thought that had come to him after Mrs. 
Justin’s last words was that it was better that Gay 
384 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


should die than to be married to such a man as Cris- 
man. But now he asked himself, “Was it better ? 77 
Hard, cold reason did not deny him her support, but 
the support was neither cheering nor bracing. “Can 
it be true / 7 the other question came to him again and 
again, “that I am the only one who can make her 
care to live ? 77 He had believed that Arthur Thorne 
could be such a one ; but now, when things were com- 
ing to him very bare and true and sharp, he could 
not say to himself that he had unreservedly hoped 
that Arthur Thorne, or any other man, would take 
Gay Armatt wholly to himself. There is a selfishness 
that sometimes lives within our noblest impulses 
without our knowing it. Some sudden burst of light 
may make the impulse transparent and show us the 
little hard stone lying at the heart of it. Some such 
light now broke upon Stratford, but he saw nothing 
plainly. All that was clear to him was that he must 
assert again and again : “I will be true to myself, and, 
thereby, true to her ! 77 

Two days after this, when Arthur Thorne came, as 
usual, in the afternoon to Mrs. Justin 7 s house, he met 
Stratford, who was just leaving. 

“You cannot see Mrs. Justin , 77 said the latter ; “she 
has been up the greater part of the night, and is now 
asleep . 77 

“How is Miss Armatt ? 77 asked Arthur. 

“They tell me she is weaker to-day than she was 
yesterday , 77 answered Stratford. 

“And that is what they said yesterday , 77 said 
Thorne. 

“Yes , 77 said Stratford ; and turning away his face, 
he made a step toward the door. 

385 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Arthur laid his hand upon his arm. “Tell me/’ he 
said, in words low-spoken hut trembling with force, 
“can it be that I am never to see her again? ” 

Stratford turned and put his hands upon his friend’s 
shoulders and looked for a moment in his face. Then 
he said, speaking slowly : “I have been to see her 
physician this morning, and I am convinced he has 
given up all hope of a rally of her strength. My dear 
boy, I am afraid that you will never see her again.” 
And with that he went away, leaving Arthur stand- 
ing in the hall. 

The two men were not rivals : they loved each 
other and were now especially drawn together ; but 
it was impossible for Stratford to talk longer with 
Arthur. The half-hour before, Mrs. Justin had come 
to him, and, putting a cold white hand in his, had 
said : “We must think no more about those things of 
which we have been talking. It is now too late.” 
She did not say, “even for you,” but there was that 
in her large, sad eyes which carried these words 
straight into his heart. 

Arthur Thorne stood in the hall until a maid-ser- 
vant came to him $ and knowing so well who he was 
and why he came, she gently told him that the nurse, 
who was preparing some broth for Miss Gay just now, 
would stop on her way up -stairs, and might be able to 
tell him something about her. And she opened the 
drawing-room door and left him. 

Without answer, Arthur walked into the room, and, 
after a few steps, stopped, his eyes upon the floor. He 
was waiting for no one ; he expected no one $ he stood 
there without a purpose 5 he knew nothing in the world 
but that he should never see Gay again. 

386 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Tliis young man was truly, powerfully, overwhelm- 
ingly in love. Since he had not been able to see Gay 
he had loved her more than when he had been with 
her. His soul reached out toward her with an agony 
of craving that only a wildly loving heart can under- 
stand. His love was based upon no hopes, no expecta- 
tions, no purposes ; it had nothing to do with the 
future, nothing to do with the past 5 it was simply 
that now, this very moment, he loved her ; his soul 
lived in her. And now he knew that never again 
should he hear her voice, never look into her eyes, 
never see her in life again ! 

His blood ran fire and ice. He knew it was true 
that, although she was not dead, she had gone from 
him. He had no rights ; he was nothing to her ; he 
had never made himself anything to her. Why 
should any one allow him to see her again? To all 
intents and purposes he was an outside stranger. He 
would never see her again ! 

Suddenly his body trembled. His right hand 
stretched itself open, and then shut close and tight. 
His soul rose up in rebellion. This thing could not 
be. Heaven and earth might say so, but he would 
not admit it. It must be that he should again see 
Gay. She was not his Gay, but she possessed him 
wholly and utterly. He must see her again in life, 
were it only one glance at a tip of a curl of her hair. 

Arthur Thorne was the most conventional of men, 
but down about him fell his conventionality as if it 
had been shaken to pieces by an earthquake. 

He put his hat upon a chair ; he listened $ he knew 
exactly what he was about 5 every faculty rushed to 
the aid of the one action for which he now lived. He 
387 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


knew where Gay was. Mrs. Justin had told him of 
the large, bright room at the back of the house adjoin- 
ing the young girl’s chamber, where, upon a lounge 
from which she could look out at the sky, she lay 
through the livelong day, thinking less, eating less, 
living less, as each day passed on. “It may be this 
is the one moment,” Arthur said to himself, “in which 
I can see her. The nurse will come up, Mrs. Justin 
may awake, the relatives are expected. Now ! ” 

With noiseless steps he passed along the hall, then 
up the one flight of softly carpeted stairs to a door 
with a portiere partly drawn across it. He looked 
through the narrow opening into the large, bright 
room in which of late his thoughts had so constantly 
dwelt. And oh, heavens ! there was Gay, upon a 
lounge, close to the window, the sunlight falling on 
the soft folds of her lightly tinted dress and on the 
bright colors of a shawl thrown partly over her. It 
was Gay ! He saw her ! 

The young girl lay perfectly motionless, her face 
slightly turned toward the window, her half- open 
eyes gazing out into the bright air but looking upon 
nothing. Her beautiful face was not changed in con- 
tour ; all the roundness and softness and delicacy of 
outline were there : but the color had faded away. 
Her light-brown, almost golden hair curled and waved, 
as of old, upon her forehead, and a mass of it was 
thrown to one side upon a cushion on which her head 
was resting. Her little hands were clasped together 
under her shawl, and they were very thin, and her 
form, under its soft drapery, was thin and weak and 
almost done with everything. 

Gay herself was nearly done with everything. It 
388 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


was not a malady of the sonl or of the affections, 
which had prostrated this young girl, and under 
which her life was wasting. It was indeed that 
malignant and subtle spirit of disease for which the 
doctors had been seeking, and which would long ago 
have come forth, its head bowed for the death-stroke, 
had Gay brought up her forces against it. But she 
brought up none. Medicine and skill can do nothing 
without the assistance of vital force, and the only war- 
fare in which Gay’s young soul was able to engage 
seemed directed against her vital forces. All that 
would sustain her body or her mind had become re- 
pulsive to her. Her soul had ceased to be hungry, 
and the example of her soul was followed by her body. 

This girl had been true to every normal impulse of 
her nature. She had had a purpose in life, noble, 
intellectual, of high aim. But this had not been all. 
She had loved. Thus stood her woman’s nature, 
equipped for the battle of life. But love had been 
taken from her, roughly and suddenly, and the manner 
of its taking had been such that it had gone absolutely 
and utterly. There had been nothing to take the 
place of this love. The warmest, truest friendship 
could not do it. Already a true friendship, unripened 
into love, had shown its powerlessness. What was 
left was a half-soul ; and girls like Gay with half- 
souls die. 

Gay was in a dream. It was a day-dream, although 
not one which sprang from her own volition. She 
was too weak for that now. Whatever came into her 
mind wandered there of its own accord ; and the 
dream that now came to her was one of earlier days, 
of the days when her life began to fill with purpose 
389 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


and meaning, and yet days that were so near they 
scarcely seemed to belong to the past. Into this 
dream came all her youth and happiness ; and so came 
love. But it was not a vision of flowing streams and 
bending shades, of warm-tinted sunset skies, of the 
majesty of mountains or the wide-spreading verdure 
of the fields. No kindred soul breathed to her words 
of high intent and stirring hope. She wandered in 
thoughtless, bright content with the young Charley 
she first had known and loved. The moonlight of 
their walks fell upon city squares and parks. They 
talked and laughed in the midst of walls and windows, 
cold ceilings and unyielding floors $ but the spirit of 
young love made these as delicate of tint and tone, as 
odorous of perfume, and as soft of footfall as white 
clouds in the clear blue sky, the tender blossoms of 
the grape, and the soft grass upon the fields. This 
was the early, fresh, and blossom love, and as it first 
showed the signs of woman’s life within her, so 
memory, wandering freely, went back to it and sat 
beside it, finding it purer, sweeter, more enduring, 
than all else. 

And thus the young girl lay, knowing no present 
and no future— lost even to all the past, except that 
she was simply happy, and held the boy Charley by 
the hand. 

Suddenly she felt a touch upon her shoulder. A 
man was kneeling by her. 

“I could not help it,” he said. “I saw you, and I 
could not keep myself from coming to you. Will you 
not speak to me, dear Gay?” 

She slowly turned her head toward him, and her 
large eyes opened wide, but in them was no surprise, 
390 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


no questioning. Just now dreams were to her like 
real life, and real life like a dream. She wondered 
not at either. 

“Mr. Thorne,” she said in a voice very low and 
perfectly calm. 

“Yes,” said Arthur, his words trembling with pas- 
sionate emotion which he was struggling to subdue, 
“it is I, and I came to tell you— Heaven has given me 
this chance, and I must tell you quickly. Oh, Gay, I 
love you! I have loved you almost ever since I 
knew you ! And now, dear Gay, it nearly kills me—” 

The poor fellow could not speak his mind. His fine 
sensibilities would not suffer him to say to Gay that 
he could not let her die without knowing that he 
loved her. But this is what he meant. 

Gay looked at him very steadily and quietly. Her 
mind was going back. “Was that the reason that 
you taught me law? ” she said. 

“It was the reason I lived,” said Arthur. “It was 
the reason for everything I thought and everything 
I did. Oh, Gay, perhaps I ought to have told you 
before, but then I did not think— and afterwards came 
the time when there was no opportunity. But now I 
have this one chance. I know that you may not care 
anything about me, but I could not help it ! I must 
come and tell you how I love you, love you, love you ! ” 

As he spoke tears came into his eyes, and some of 
them rolled down his cheeks. Gay looked at him 
with more interest than she had looked at anything 
for days, but her manner was still very quiet and 
apparently untouched by any emotion. 

“Do you know,” said she, “that I am not going to 
live? ” 


391 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Thorne did not answer, but the expression that 
came into his face showed, even to the listless mind 
of Gay, that he knew it. 

“It is a great pity / 7 she said, her large eyes fixed 
upon him, “that you should feel this way now . 77 

“I feel so now , 77 he said, “and I shall feel so always. 
It doesn’t make any difference what happens, I shall 
feel so all my life — always — forever ! 77 

Gay still looked at him, but said nothing. Sud- 
denly his manner changed. 

“Oh, Gay ! 77 he exclaimed in a tone almost wild with 
importunity, “why will you die? It is too terrible, 
too dreadful ! Why will you not do everything to 
make yourself live? They tell me you do not fight 
against Death. Why will you not rouse yourself up 
and fight against it?— for the sake of everybody who 
loves you— for the sake of this beautiful world— for 
your own sake, dear Gay ? 77 

She looked at him for a moment, a slight shade of 
uncertainty upon her brow. For weeks she had re- 
ceived from Mrs. Justin, from her doctor, from her 
attendants and friends, the most earnest and anxious 
entreaties to battle against Death, but there was noth- 
ing in Gay’s nature to give response to these prayers, 
and day by day they fell upon her ear colder and 
more commonplace. But the words spoken by Arthur 
Thorne, coming from him, and in this way, and at 
this time, and with something behind them of which 
her mind took cognizance but did not act upon, 
seemed altogether different and novel. 

“What do you mean ? 77 she asked. 

Arthur did not answer. The words that came to 
him were too many, too ordinary, too weak. His 
392 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


eyes fell upon a tall, heavy flask, the sight of which 
struck a pang to his heart. He knew it well. It 
contained a strengthening and revivifying cordial 
which had been ordered by Gay’s doctor, and which 
Arthur, at Mrs. Justin’s request, had procured for 
her. This he had done more than a week before, and 
as it now stood between him and the light it told the 
tale of this young girl’s surrender. Its contents had 
scarcely been tasted. 

Arthur arose and approached the table. He did 
not speak ; he could scarcely shape his thoughts. The 
power of this remedy, upon which so much hope and 
reliance had been placed, had never been tried. 
Somewhere there was a cruel sin. He had made him- 
self well aware of the nature of the cordial, for it con- 
cerned Gay. Pouring a small quantity of the liquid 
into a glass, he again knelt by the side of the young 
girl. 

“Will you not drink this?” he said. “It will help 
you to fight Death. Dear Guy, do not refuse it!” 
And he held the glass toward her. 

She looked steadily into his eyes, and upon her lips 
came a smile, faint and shadowy, but no fainter nor 
more shadowy than the interest in life and this world 
that awoke within her. 

“If you wish it so much, I will try,” she said ; “but 
you must raise my head.” 

With the glass in one hand, Arthur passed the 
other beneath her head. Her soft masses of silky 
hair enveloped his hand, and some of it fell over his 
wrist. It was Gay’s head that lay in his open palm, 
warm, round, and heavy. She could not lift it ; he it 
was who should raise it ! Every fine hair that touched 
393 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


him seemed to send an electric thrill throughout his 
soul and body ; it belonged to that dear Gay whom 
he loved. 

Slowly and gently he raised her and placed the 
glass to her lips. She drank it, and then he tenderly 
lowered her head and drew out his hand from her 
hair. 

Gay turned her eyes toward him with a full, earnest 
gaze. “ Thank you / 7 she said, “and I think you had 
better take some of it yourself. You are very pale . 77 

That she should say it was enough. He rose to his 
feet, poured out a glassful of the cordial, and drank it. 
Then he came back to the lounge. 

“Ho you feel better ? 77 she said. 

For a few moments Arthur could not speak, and 
when he did his voice was husky and slightly trem- 
ulous. That she should think of him ! 

“Hear Gay , 77 he said, “will you not let them give it 
you? Think of this dear world, and do not die. 
And now I must go. Perhaps I have stayed too long. 
But I have seen you ! I have told you ! 77 

She drew out from under the shawl one of her thin 
little hands, and Arthur clasped it in both of his own. 
He was about to press upon it a passionate kiss, but 
with a sudden effort he restrained himself. He had 
told her ; that was all ; and he had no right to touch 
her with his lips. His eyes filled with tears, and he 
left the room. 

When the nurse, who had experienced delaying 
difficulties in the preparation of a delicacy with 
which she designed to tempt whatever lingering trace 
of appetite might yet remain with her young charge, 
heard above her the quick closing of the front door, 
394 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


she exclaimed : “There ! that gentleman has gone ! 
But I can’t say I’m sorry. It’s a harder thing to 
answer his questions now than it ever was before.” 

An hour or two afterwards she said to Mrs. Justin : 
“I wish that young gentleman had stayed, for I know 
it would have pleased him wonderful to hear that 
Miss Armatt took three tablespoonfuls of the broth I 
made for her. How she suddenly came to have all 
that appetite I can’t imagine.” 

Gay was then sleeping, and when she awoke Mrs. 
Justin was sitting by her side. The eyes of the young 
girl instinctively moved toward the window, outside 
of which the air was still bright with the light of day, 
but suddenly she turned them on her friend. 

“Dear,” she said, “don’t you want to give me some 
of that drink Mr. Thorne poured out for me ? ” 

“Mr. Thorne !” exclaimed Mrs. Justin. 

“That is it,” said Gay, glancing toward the table. 
“He was very good, and I am glad I took it.” 


395 


CHAPTER XXXIY 

When our poor Gay had been sufficiently aroused 
from her lethargy of soul and body to make one 
feeble stroke in the battle against Death, the action 
and its result appeared to interest her, and she made 
other strokes with encouraging effect. Day by day 
her arm grew stronger, her attitude more determined, 
until the enemy, from falling back little by little, 
retreated altogether, accompanied by the insidious 
ally who had incited him to the conquest of Gay’s 
young life. 

To all Gay’s friends this was a season of great 
rejoicing, and to Mrs. Justin it was a resurrection. 
She had watched the gradual death of the bright, 
strong young friend she had known so well, and had 
seen her utterly pass away, leaving in her stead a 
helpless, listless, careless being whose living was not 
life and of whom there was but little left to die. But 
now Gay was once more the true Gay, not yet quite 
her old self, but hour by hour approaching nearer to 
that most lovable creation. 

As she grew stronger her friends came to her, and, 
among them, Stratford. This friend, from the mo- 
ment he had heard of the change in Gay, had braced 
himself for action should she return to that life which 


396 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


had been supposed lost to her. In that event there 
must be no doubt, no indecision, no hesitation; his 
part must be chosen, and must be enacted steadfastly 
and honestly unto the end. 

There was no hesitation, no doubt, no indecision. 
He came to her as the friend of old, the adviser, the 
helper, the master. These, and no more, he intended 
ever to be. Without a question or a thought, Gay 
seated herself at his feet. To her the action was 
again as natural as when she had sat there before. 

Arthur Thorne came also to Gay, came earlier than 
Stratford. He had told Mrs. Justin of that memorable 
interview with the almost dying girl, and he con- 
cealed nothing of what he had done, or felt, or said. 
Mrs. Justin smiled sadly. Her heart was pained, but 
she could not reproach him. If it should be that he 
had given Gay back to her, he deserved gratitude 
which could not be measured. She was ready to 
yield him this, but she gave him no more. His hopes 
were not her hopes. 

When Guy was strong enough to come into the 
library and sit in the easy-cushioned chair before the 
tall, wide window, Arthur, as has been said, was among 
her earliest visitors. Nothing could have induced 
him to deny himself this privilege, and yet it was a 
hard thing for this young man to present himself 
before this young girl. He had said all that lover 
could say, but as a lover he must now say nothing. 
What may burst forth from a full soul to one whose 
life is ending must be repressed when that life is 
slowly and feebly beginning again. He must meet her 
as though that other meeting had not been, and with- 
out knowing what effect his words had had upon her. 

397 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Arthur had plunged into love’s Rubicon, but he 
had not crossed it. Chilling and dangerous as might 
be its waters, he would make no stroke forward until 
the time had come for him to seek his fate upon the 
other shore. 

While Gay had been constantly in the mind of 
Arthur, so into Gay’s mind, as she quietly lay on her 
lounge and in her chair during the happy hours when 
in a slow and steady tide her health and strength 
flowed back upon her, came thoughts of Mr. Thorne. 
On that day when his voice had roused her from her 
dream of girlhood and from her half-unconscious gaz- 
ing into the bright world of empty air beyond her 
window, she had not wondered when she turned and 
saw him at her side. The faculty of wonder had gone 
to sleep or had died. All things to her were com- 
monplace and ordinary. But it was not long before 
the recollection of that kneeling figure by her side 
caused wonder to revive. At first she asked herself 
why he had come to her? why it had been he who 
had incited her to turn on Death and resist him? 
But this question she did not ask long ; it answered 
itself. She remembered well his words, and having 
looked on his pale and earnest countenance, it was 
impossible to forget it or to misconstrue its meaning. 
Then she asked herself, “Why did he feel this way ? ” 
Thus questioning, musing, pondering, she went back 
over her intercourse with Arthur Thorne, called to 
mind this and that thing he had done or said, suited 
motives to his actions or resolved his actions back to 
motives ; and so Arthur came often and dwelt long 
in her thoughts without meeting there with any 
incommoding company. 


398 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


The matter was now plain enough to her on his 
side, but not at all plain on hers. Often and often 
she tried to make it plain to herself on her side, but 
she could not do it. She came to the conclusion that 
this was something too hard for her just now, and she 
gave up the attempt. One definite thing she did for 
Mr. Thorne— she gave him a new position in her 
mind. Up to this time she had always looked upon 
him as a No. 2. He was gentle $ he was considerate ; 
he was kindness itself ; he was talented ; he had learned 
many things and he knew how to think for himself j 
he was handsome, with the bearing of a gentleman ; 
and in his soul she had found many sympathies : but, 
notwithstanding all this, she had looked upon him as 
a No. 2. But now there was a change. Speaking as 
he had spoken, and feeling as he had felt, no matter 
why or to what end, there was no one to whom Arthur 
Thorne could stand second. 

When the time came that she could see visitors the 
heart of Gay was troubled. Of course he would come 
to see her, and what would he do? His presence 
might be embarrassing, but then, on the other hand, 
it would be so very strange if he did not come. What 
would he say to her? Would he look as he did when 
she last saw him? As for herself — what she should 
say or think or do, she knew not. The whole affair 
was very puzzling, and it depended so much upon 
circumstances. 

When Gay’s friends began to come to her, Mrs. 
Justin never left her alone with visitors. Enthusiasms 
and draughts needed her watchful eye. She, too, was 
anxious about Mr. Thorne. But when he came he 
brought with him no cold accompaniment of outer 
399 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


air, left behind him no open doors nor undrawn 
portiere, and his manner was under the same quiet 
restraint that it was wont to be. But his face was 
very pale, and any stranger could have seen that his 
interest in Gay’s condition was deep and true. Gay 
herself was a little pale at first, but this soon passed 
away. When he had gone she fell into a state of 
wonder. Could it be true that all that had happened 
which she remembered? Or was it one of the queer 
dreams which had come to her at that time? But 
after he had made her two or three visits, Gay began 
to imagine that what she saw in him was an outer 
crust of kind restraint and tender regard for her new 
strength, and that there was something under this 
crust which sometimes shook it, although so slightly 
that perhaps no one knew it but herself. The presence 
of Mrs. Justin was a bar to words or emotion, but Gray 
wondered that there was not the least little bit of a 
sign that he remembered what he had said— if indeed 
he had ever said it. If he ever should speak, would 
he show that he had repented having been carried 
away by his sorrow that she was going to die? or 
would he think it well not to speak again? or would 
he repeat what he had said ? 

Gay was quite right when she thought she saw beneath 
Arthur’s quiet restraint some signs of internal commo- 
tion. In fact he was torn, he was almost riven ; he slept 
not by night, nor took aught of comfort in his life. He, 
too, questioned himself, but he only asked : “What 
does she think of me ? What does she expect of me ? ” 

One day, when Arthur was with the two ladies in 
the library, Mrs. Justin was called away to receive a 
visitor. Gay offered no opportunity to the embarrass- 
ment of silence, and began instantly to speak. 

400 


/ 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

“Do you know, Mr. Thorne,” she said, “that I have 
a very funny idea about you? I believe that you 
have forgotten my name, and that you are ashamed 
to ask anybody what it is. You don’t address me by 
any name whatever, and I sometimes fancy that while 
you are sitting here you are going over the alphabet 
in your mind, hoping in that way the name will come 
to you 5 and I suppose that in such cases people 
generally slip too quickly over A, because it is the 
first letter and they are in such a hurry to get on to 
the others.” 

Arthur drew closer to her. “Once,” he said, speak- 
ing very quickly and in a low tone, “I called you by 
a name which perhaps I had no right to use $ but, 
until I know that, I can never call you by any other. 
Do you remember ? ” 

A tender glow came into Gay’s cheeks and temples, 
as though the fair Hygeia had suddenly touched her 
with a wand and sent into her veins the rich young 
blood which once coursed through them. There was 
a faint sparkle in her eyes, but this was hidden by the 
long lashes which now shaded them. 

“You spoke very kindly to me that day,” she said. 
“You were so good to me—” 

“Oh, don’t speak of kindness,” interrupted Arthur. 
“I beg you not to think of that now. Don’t you 
remember that I called you Gay— that I said I loved 
you? Don’t you remember that? ” 

“I remember,” said Gay, speaking very softly, with 
her eyes still more shaded, “but I have thought— have 
fancied— that it might have been one of those dreams 
I used to have.” 

“It was not a dream,” said Arthur, a trembling 
earnestness in his voice. “It was all real. Oh, Gay, 
401 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


dear Gay, I called you that. I said I loved you. 
May I call you so again ? May I say so once more ? ” 
“Mr. Thorne,” said Gay, still speaking very softly, 
“I think this is all too soon. You could not have had 
those feelings very long j and as for me,— not knowing 
but it might have been a fancy or a dream,— what 
you now say seems to come so unexpectedly. Do you 
not think you ought to wait? ” 

“Wait ! ” exclaimed Arthur. “How long? ” 

“I don’t know,” said Gay— “some time.” 

“And may I love you while I wait? ” asked Arthur. 
The glow on her cheeks and temples increased 
somewhat, as if Hygeia had forgotten to remove her 
wand, and it spread to the little ears which lay among 
the soft, light-brown, almost golden hair which once 
had covered Arthur’s hand and even spread itself 
upon his wrist. The light in her eyes, now but 
slightly shaded, seemed to flash something of itself 
into her lips, which tremulously moved, as though 
they held between them a word with which they 
might play but not let go. But the word was too 
strong for them, and, as for a moment Gay’s large eyes 
were turned upon Arthur’s glowing face, it made a 
quick escape. 

“Yes,” said Gay. 

Wait ! Who on earth could have waited? 

Arthur did not 5 in a moment he had her in his 
arms. And when she was there, it came to her in a 
flash of consciousness that all the thinking she had 
been lately doing, all the wondering, all the question- 
ing of herself, had been but the natural, simple, and 
certain pathway to those arms. 


402 


CHAPTER XXXV 


When Enoch Bullripple reached the Western town 
in which lived those persons who were said to have 
inherited legal rights in the Cherry Bridge farms, he 
found but one of them. This was a Mr. Hector 
Twombly, a man of about forty years of age, with a 
very stout and even plump figure, a round face 
totally devoid of beard, red cheeks and lips, and as 
much of an outward air of boyishness as is compatible 
with forty years of actual age. By profession he was 
a stock-raiser, a general merchant, a grist- and saw- 
mill owner, and one of the proprietors of an important 
stage and mail route. 

Mr. Twombly listened with great attention to 
Enoch’s account of the business which had brought 
him there, and then he invited the old farmer to take 
supper with him, and to stay all night, and, in fact, 
to make his house his home as long as he should be in 
that part of the country. The next morning, in the 
very plainly furnished counting-room of his store, in 
which the greater part of his extensive and varied 
business was conducted, he communicated to his 
visitor his decision regarding the Cherry Bridge 
property. 


403 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


“Nov, then, Mr. Bullripple,” said Mr. Twombly, 
sitting up very straight in his chair, with one plump, 
well-shaped hand upon each of his outspread knees, 
“this is about the size of this business as it appears 
to me : My uncle, Thomas Brackett, who I never saw 
and have heard very little about,— my mother having 
married young and come out here pretty much among 
the first settlers,— owned the farm you live on and 
that other one, and when he died they went, naturally 
enough, as everybody thought, to his nephew Peter, 
who was living with him, and who everybody looked 
upon as the same thing as his son and heir. That is 
the way in which I have heard the matter stated . 77 

“ You’ve put it just right , 77 said Enoch. 

“Now, then, when Mr. Peter Brackett walked into 
the property there wasn’t nobody there to ask any 
questions, and it isn’t likely that Mr. Peter Brackett 
bothered his head about any sister of his uncle who 
went out West ever so long ago, and who might be 
dead by that time, for aught he knew. Perhaps he 
never heard of her.” 

“You bet he did ! ” said Enoch. “But that’s neither 
here nor there.” 

“No,” said Mr. Twombly, “that’s neither here nor 
there. Well, then, after a while Mr. Peter got tired 
of farming and concluded to sell out, and he did sell 
out to you and to that other gentleman, and you two 
paid for the property, cash down, clean and finished, 
bargain and sale. You showed me your papers, and 
I suppose the other gentleman could show his, if he 
was here.” 

“Yes,” said Enoch ; “but that farm was first bought 
by my brother-in-law, and he had to give a mortgage 
404 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


on the land. This was took up and paid by Mr. Stull, 
who now owns the farm.” 

“All right,” said Mr. Twombly. “You and Mr. 
Stull now own the two farms, having bought and paid 
for them $ and then, somehow or other, you hear that 
old Tom Brackett had other nephews besides the 
aforenamed Peter, and that I am one of them and my 
brother Ajax the other, and you come out here and 
put the whole case before me. Now, it ain’t for me 
to ask whether you did this because you was so touchy 
honest that you couldn’t sleep in your bed till you 
knew everybody had his rights, or because you thought 
somebody else might come out here and make a 
bargain with us and so get the inside track of you. 
That’s what I haven’t got the right to bother myself 
about.” 

“No,” said Enoch, “you hain’t.” 

“But this much I have got a right to do, and that 
is to say that when you bought that farm you bought 
it, and when you paid for it, it was yours. Now, if I 
and my brother Ajax have any rights in this business, 
and there isn’t any doubt but what we have, our 
rights are in the money that Peter Brackett got for 
those farms, and not in the farms themselves, which 
you two men have fairly bought and paid for.” 

“That’s not the way the law looks at it,” said 
Enoch. “Peter Brackett sold what wasn’t all his.” 

“That’s the way I look at it,” said Mr. Twombly. 
“Dura the law ! And my brother Ajax will look at 
it just as I do, because if he don’t I’ll break his back, 
and he knows it. Now, sir, we’ve got nothing to do 
with those two farms that have been fairly bought 
and sold. What we’ve got to do with is the money 
405 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


Peter Brackett got for them. You’ve told me where 
he is settled, and when we’re ready we’ll come down 
on him. That’s our business. And all we’ve got to 
do with you is to have the papers made out, giving 
you a clear title to your farm, as far as I and Ajax 
are concerned. My lawyer here will attend to that, 
and there is a cow-boy in town who is going to start 
out early to-morrow morning to the ranch where 
Ajax is just now, and he’ll sign them and send them 
back day after to-morrow. And if that Mr. Stull 
wants his business fixed up in the same way, all he’s 
got to do is to send his documents out here and let me 
see for myself that everything is all straight, and we’ll 
give him the same sort of title as we give you.” 

Thereupon Mr. Twombly and Mr. Bullripple shook 
hands on the bargain. And while waiting for the 
arrival of the return cow-boy with the signature of 
Ajax, Enoch’s host drove him about the surrounding 
country in a handsome buggy with two fast trotters, 
showed him over his two mills and his store, his stock- 
yards and his stage-stables, and gave him to eat and 
drink of the best and the most abundant. 

When Mr. Bullripple returned to Cherry Bridge 
he felt that he now truly owned his farm, but that he 
had lost his opportunity of triumphing over Mr. Stull 
and Zenas Turby. It was true that he had prevented 
those two plotters from triumphing over him. Enoch 
had expected more than this, but this was really so 
much he felt that he ought to be satisfied. He had, 
indeed, come off wonderfully well. 

But there was a minor triumph left open to him, 
and the crafty old farmer was not slow to avail him- 
self of it. He would assume the position of the bene- 
406 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


factor of Mr. Stull. He would say to him : “You need 
trouble yourself no more about this affair; I have 
been out West myself and have arranged everything 
with the heirs of your property. I will tell you 
exactly what you have to do in order to make your 
title quite secure. I am very glad to be able to put 
you once more on a sound footing in our part of the 
country, and this, too, without any trouble or expense 
on the part of yourself or your agents.” 

Enoch knew that this would be very hard on J. 
Weatherby Stull, whose soul would naturally scorn 
the idea that it was possible for any one to bestow a 
benefit upon him, especially one whom he hated on 
account of injuries conferred. He knew, too, that by 
this course of action he would deal a heavy, although 
an indirect, blow at his old enemy, Zenas Turby. 
Enoch had put this and that together to such purpose 
that he had become convinced that Turby was Stull’s 
agent in this matter of the Cherry Bridge farms, and 
that when the principal should be made aware that 
the whole business had been settled without the 
knowledge of his agent, the latter would, as Enoch 
put it to himself, “ketch fits.” 

To a certain extent Enoch’s plan was quite success- 
ful. When Mr. Stull was informed of what had been 
done he was angry, and would have been mortified 
had he not attributed the failure of his scheme to the 
stupidity of Turby, who was summoned to New York, 
and who did, in very truth, catch fits. 

Had this failure of a well-planned project occurred 
a month or two earlier, Mr. Stull would have been 
much more affected than he now was. Other plans 
and purposes had failed about the same time, and the 
407 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


strong mind of Mr. Stnll was rising above the storms 
which beset him, in order that he might see how he 
could take advantage of them. It was his custom to 
turn, if possible, bad fortune as well as good to his 
advantage. When he discovered that his ownership 
of Yatoldi’s was becoming dangerous, not only on 
account of John People’s intended marriage, but 
because of his daughter Matilda’s possession of his 
secret and her opposition to a Yatoldi connection, 
and when he found out that Matilda would certainly 
marry Mr. Crisman, with or without paternal consent, 
he was at first extremely indignant and afterwards 
sternly resolved. 

He brought his mind to the determination that 
Yatoldi’s had had its day and must be put behind 
him, but he would put it behind him in his own way 
and in an advantageous way. He came to the same de- 
cision concerning his daughter’s marriage. Crisman, 
he found, was a man of good character and fair con- 
nections and of more than the average business ability. 
If his hard-headed and inflexible daughter would 
marry this man, she might do so, and he would place 
the couple in a position which would be creditable to 
himself and his family, and in which Crisman might 
rise if he should prove equal to mercantile soaring. 
Then Mr. Stull would put Matilda and her husband 
behind him. Another object, grander than a res- 
taurant or a daughter’s marriage, loomed up before 
him, and to this he would devote his life. 

When John People was informed by Mr. Stull that 
the latter had decided that John should buy out 
Yatoldi’s, the young man was frightened. It was too 
much ! He would much prefer that Mr. Stull should 
408 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


sell out to some one else, and that he should continue 
as junior partner and manager. But Mr. Stull told 
him that it was impossible to sell to any one else. 
The transaction could take place between John and 
himself, and no others. The terms decided upon by 
Mr. Stull were not easy ones. John was to raise a 
certain sum in cash and pay it down $ he was then to 
make payments at fixed and frequent intervals, both 
as interest and as instalments on the remainder of 
the high price put upon the establishment, which 
would make it necessary for him to do a very lucrative 
business, and for a long time, to hand over to Mr. Stull 
a very large proportion of his profits. 

When Miss Burns heard of Mr. Stalks purpose in 
this matter she was not frightened. It would be a 
hard and long fight, she knew, but she advised John 
to go into it ; in fact, she decided that he should go 
into it. As soon as the transfer of the business should 
be completed they would marry, and then she would 
give up her position in the store, and enter, heart, 
soul, and body, into her husband’s business. She 
would sit behind the desk and be the cashier, thus 
saving money to John and giving him the opportunity 
to be in all the other places in which he ought to be 
and to do all the other things which he ought to do. 

John People is now owner of Vatoldi’s. He has not 
paid for it, and it will be years before he does so, but, 
so far, he has fulfilled all his obligations. His brow 
has been a good deal furrowed by the necessity of hard 
work and careful calculation in order to do this, but 
all signs of resignation have disappeared from it, and 
have been succeeded by a general air of cheery ear- 
nestness. His wife is much plumper than when she 
409 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


was Miss Burns ; sweetbreads, lamb chops, and all the 
delicacies of the restaurant are her own whenever she 
wants them, without a preliminary reservation in the 
corner of an ice-box. Mrs. People makes her son long 
visits, especially in the winter, when there is little 
to do at the farm $ and although she thinks John the 
most fortunate as well as the most deserving of men, 
she is convinced that no better fortune ever befell 
him than when he escaped the clutches of that Stull 
girl. 

There is one great change in the Yatoldi establish- 
ment : Mr. Stull is never seen there. He has put it 
behind him. The restaurant, however, is as well 
managed and as popular as it ever was. 

“I shall make it a rule,” said John People to his 
wife, “to manage that place exactly as if I expected, 
at from fifteen to twenty minutes past one, to see Mr. 
Stull walk in at the door and clap his eyes on every- 
thing on the premises^ from a spot on a table-cloth to 
an overdone steak.” 

Thus over the fortunes of Vatoldi’s hovers the 
invisible but protecting influence of J. Weatherby 
Stull. 

The good fortune of John People not only bore 
heavily upon that young man, but upon his Uncle 
Enoch. Mr. Bullripple entirely approved of the pur- 
chase of Vatoldi’s, although he fully appreciated the 
weight of the load that it would lay not only on his 
nephew’s shoulders, but on his own. John had not 
been able to save much money, and in order to make 
the first cash payment it was necessary that he 
should be generously helped. To this end Enoch 
collected every cent he could possibly gather together, 
410 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


and put himself under obligations to Mr. Stratford 
for the remainder of the money needed. The old 
farmer had no fear but that in the course of years 
John would be able to pay back everything, and 
would eventually die a rich man. If his nephew had 
desired assistance in order to enter into agricultural 
pursuits Mr. Bullripple would not have lifted a finger 
to aid him ; but he had great faith in the right kind 
of a restaurant. 

Miss Matilda had most truly succeeded in her vari- 
ous plans, but while she was entirely satisfied, she 
was not elated. She had expected to succeed. She 
thoroughly understood her father’s character, and 
although she knew that it would be utterly impossible 
to dam or stop the powerful current in which his 
nature flowed, it was quite possible, were the impedi- 
ment wide enough, high enough, and solid enough, to 
turn the stream in a new direction. She could be 
such an impediment, and having thrown herself across 
his current, suggesting at the same time a change of 
channel, she was not at all surprised to see the change 
made. 

In the course of the winter Mr. Crisman and Miss 
Stull were married in a manner entirely suited to the 
social position of the bride. To these proceedings 
Mr. Stull gave a lofty and dignified assent. The ele- 
ment of interest in his approbation appeared to be 
but moderate, and, entirely contrary to his previous 
record, he interfered very little with the details of 
this important family occasion. It is probable, how- 
ever, that no feeling, whether of apathy or disappro- 
bation, could have prevented him from taking his 
usual place as director of affairs had he not known 
411 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

that that position had been assumed by his daughter 
Matilda. 

With capital furnished by his father-in-law, Mr. 
Crisman entered, as a junior partner, the great mer- 
cantile firm of which he had been an employee, and 
he looked upon himself as in every way a most fortu- 
nate and successful man. In his marriage relation he 
was indeed quite fortunate. From the very beginning 
his wife set herself to work to manage him, and, in 
order that she might do so without trouble to herself 
or dissatisfaction to him, she also set herself to work 
to make him happy. Having, by diligent study, 
made herself thoroughly acquainted with his char- 
acter, she succeeded admirably in both these regards. 

When Mr. Crisman thought of that love-affair 
which antedated his engagement to Miss Stull,— and 
during said engagement such a thought did sometimes 
come to him,— he found that the place in his senti- 
ments which once had been filled by this love was 
now occupied by a modified form of anger, which was 
principally aimed at a want of respect for his opinions, 
his position, and himself which had been exhibited by 
all the persons with whom that affair had connected 
him. But these thoughts came less and less frequently 
—like Mr. Stull, Crisman was a man who could put 
things behind him. 

When the powerful current of Mr. Stull’s action 
and interest had been turned from its course by his 
daughter Matilda, aided by the force of events, she 
had no idea of the new channel in which it would 
flow. Ho one, indeed, except her father, could have 
had such an idea, and even he, when he came to survey 
and fully comprehend the nature and extent of this 
412 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


fresh channel, was surprised at what he deemed its 
importance and its grandeur. 

Mr. Stull was a man whose pleasure in life was to 
be found in lofty flight. Whether he soared as a res- 
taurant-keeper, a social and church pillar, or as a 
financial operator, he wished to fly high and look 
down on his fellows j and his strength of wing was 
powerful and enduring. There were some flights he 
could not take, and these he did not essay. He would 
have liked to look down upon railroad kings,* but 
he dwelt upon no Andes, nor were his wings of condor 
size. 

He had long had in mind a scheme which pleased 
him much, and for some years he had thought that a 
great part of the fortune which he intended to leave 
behind him should be devoted to carrying out this 
scheme. But now his purpose was changed. His 
speculations and investments had been exceptionally 
successful, and he was a very rich man much sooner 
than he had expected to be. It was quite possible for 
himself to do, in these vigorous years of his natural 
life, what he had expected to order that others should 
do after his death. When this decision had been 
reached, it greatly gratified the soul of Mr. Stull. 
This new object of his life was far higher, far nobler, 
than anything he had yet touched. It would give 
him loftiness, it would give him power. 

Mr. Stull determined to found, create, and direct a 
law hospital. He had never studied law, nor did he 
pretend to understand its principles or practice ; but 
in the course of his varied business life he had become 
acquainted with many phases of its effect upon society, 
as well as many phases of its relations to the ordinary 
413 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


and to the extraordinary man. Pondering upon this 
subject, he had come to the conclusion that, in its 
general relation to mankind, law was to be looked 
upon in the same light as medicine and surgery. If 
the latter demanded hospitals for their perfect and 
complete practice, so did the former. As the means 
of amelioration or removal of those evils against which 
the powers of medicine and surgery are directed are 
open to all, so Mr. Stull thought the amelioration or 
removal of those evils against which the power of the 
law is directed should be equally open to all. There- 
fore he determined to found a law hospital, where 
those persons who were unable to pay for legal pro- 
tection should receive it as freely as the ailing poor 
receive medicine and treatment in hospitals of the 
other kind. 

When Mr. Stull undertook an important enterprise, 
he brought his strong and practical intellect to bear 
upon its probable disadvantages as well as its advan- 
tages, and before he spoke of this great scheme he 
made himself quite ready to meet any objections that 
might be urged against it. When persons came to 
him and said that such an institution would have a 
very bad effect upon the poor, for it would encourage 
them to be quarrelsome and go to law, Mr. Stull rose 
easily above the objectors and replied : “There is no 
more reason to suppose that than to suppose that the 
ordinary hospital encourages sickness or broken legs 
among the poor. It will be almost impossible for a 
sham or unworthy case to get into my institution. 
There will be a Board of Examiners, composed of high 
legal talent, who will investigate every application, 
and if there are not good grounds for taking it into 
414 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


the courts it will be rejected ; but if, on the other 
hand, it shall be found to be based on good grounds, 
it will be carried through to the very end— to the 
very end, sir. If it should be the case of a brakeman 
against a millionaire, it will be carried through ; you 
may be sure of that. And then, again, sir, it will 
prevent a great deal of litigation. There are lawyers, 
sir, who take up unjust cases for clients who are 
unable to pay, in hopes of sharing in unjust advantages. 
My institution will greatly assist in putting an end to 
such practices. The fact that it never takes up an 
unjust case will shine as an example, sir, and those 
who are unjustly proceeded against will find in my 
law hospital a strong ally in defence.” 

Mr. Stull was a vigorous upholder of strict justice. 
He was not generous, he was not forbearing, he had 
not a kindly spirit. His present enterprise was in- 
tended as much to defeat and humble the unjust rich 
as to assist the oppressed poor. If he could have 
legally revenged himself upon Enoch Bullripple he 
would have done so gladly ; and had he seen another 
person oppressing the old farmer in a perfectly legal 
way he would have had no disposition to interfere. 
Furthermore, what he did for the advantage of man- 
kind must carry out some of his own practical ideas, 
and must be of advantage to himself. These condi- 
tions he fully expected the law hospital to fulfil. 

In the first place, it would give him power and 
position. By its aid he might be enabled to take an 
occasional flight above the head of even a railroad 
king. There was no station which would please and 
suit him so well as that of the founder and director- 
in-chief of the great institution he intended to estab- 
415 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

lish. Then, again, lie expected liis law hospital to 
become a source of profit. It would be au admirable 
school of practice for young lawyers who would pay 
fees for this advantage, and who would not only be 
supervised by the body of high legal talent who would 
direct the operations of the institution, but would 
receive from said body much valuable assistance and 
instruction. The vast resources of the hospital would 
be open, not only to the poor, but to those who would 
be able to pay, and its strictly regulated charges and 
prompt and vigorous methods would prove a great 
inducement to persons who would hesitate to place 
themselves in the power of unrestricted and irrespon- 
sible legal advisers. 

The scope of this institution was a very wide one. 
It would be a great Law School. The decisions of its 
Board of Examiners would meet with such high regard 
that in time it would come to be looked upon almost 
in the light of a court of law ; it offered to the poor 
the legal redress of wrongs, and to all men it would 
afford the opportunity of obtaining the assistance of 
the law of the land in a systematic, economic, and 
perfectly practical and business-like manner. 

And it would enable this generation, and in all 
probability many generations hereafter, to read on a 
marble slab in the great entrance-hall the name of its 
Founder and first Director-in-Chief, J. Weatherby 
Stull. 


416 


CHAPTER XXXVI 

As the winter months went on, the goddess Hygeia 
did so truly touch with her wand the fair Gabriella 
Armatt that this young person bloomed out in full 
health and vigor j and when the jonquils in the little 
yard in front of Mrs. Justin’s town house forced their 
tender blossoms into the uncertain air of spring, they 
were greeted with no happier eyes than those of Gay. 

Our heroine was not one who had put things behind 
her. In her life it had seemed as if certain things 
had pushed her before them, and, remaining stationary 
themselves, had gradually faded from sight as she 
went on. That first young love, which had grown to 
be a true, conscientious, but anxious affection, had 
not gone on with her. She had now begun a new life, 
and it was a life without that old affection. 

If, in those melancholy days in the past year, when 
she seemed to be left alone in the world, her soul had, 
half unconsciously, looked toward Horace Stratford 
with vague feelings other than those of friend to 
friend or scholar to master, those feelings existed no 
more. Her new life had begun without them. When 
Stratford looked upon her now he saw not that certain 
something, that sympathetic stamen which at times 
springs suddenly from a woman’s heart, and which 
417 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


had made her perfect in his eyes. She was his friend, 
loyal and warm; she was his disciple, earnest and 
trusting : hut on her face that certain something never 
appeared— for him. 

The effect upon Arthur Thorne of his love for Gay 
was somewhat surprising, even to himself. He had 
thought it would change him— make a different man 
of him ; but in fact it produced in him but little 
change that was radical. His tastes, his strict regard 
for the proper, and his conscientious views of duty to 
himself and society, still remained upon the solid 
foundations on which they had always stood, but into 
his nature had come a warm-hued liberality of feeling 
which was born of his admiration for Gay’s nature. 

Gay’s nature was a strong one and fully animated, 
and it would have had its influence upon any man, 
but it could not put into a man’s nature what was not 
there. With Crisman she would have failed utterly, 
but in the warm radiance of her influence, the colors 
came out in the nature of Arthur Thorne as the 
bright spots and brilliant hues appear upon the wings 
of a moth as he draws their sombre folds from his 
cocoon into the bright light of day. 

As to Gay’s aspirations and the life-work to which 
she had looked forward, these two young people, from 
having widely different opinions, came to think alike. 
When Gray started on her course of advanced study 
she had not definitely fixed her mind upon the special 
path in life to which this study was to lead her, but 
she had determined that she would do something 
which should satisfy her ambition and be of service 
to other people. She had no notion that one whit of 
her work in college and afterwards should be wasted. 

418 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 

She was to he something which should be worthy of 
herself, of her instructors, and of those heights of 
knowledge to which she hoped to climb. Even when 
she became engaged to Crisman her ideas did not 
change, although, by the counsel of Mrs. Justin, and 
subsequently by the influence rather than by the 
direct advice of Stratford, she modified them. She 
would put her intellect in perfect training before she 
decided on what field she would send it forth to do 
battle. Even the academic degree to which she 
directed her course was looked upon more as a guid- 
ing-point than an object; she might never claim it, 
but if she made herself worthy of it her intellect 
would be well trained. 

When Gay’s purpose of study was made known to 
Arthur Thorne during the days he spent at Cherry 
Bridge, he was very much opposed to it and talked a 
great deal to Mrs. Justin about it. He believed that 
when any one entered upon a course of earnest 
endeavor, it should have a fixed and definite object. 
If the young lady intended to devote herself to any 
branch of philosophy, science, or literature, she should 
concentrate her energies upon those studies which 
would prepare her for her future work. When he 
became engaged to Gay this idea of the limitation 
and concentration of her energies, even at her present 
stage of progress, was still in his mind. But when 
the two had talked over the matter they came to 
think alike. Arthur still believed that earnest study 
should have its object, but he soon understood that 
Gay had an object, and his soul expanded itself to 
appreciate its beauty and value. He agreed with her 
that the conviction that one’s intellect has been well 


419 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


cultivated is a sufficient reward for the labor of the 
cultivation. 

They would work together,— there could be no 
doubt about that,— and if the time came when they 
felt they were able to do something for the world 
which in a degree would repay the world for what it 
had done for them, then they would do the thing 
which they believed they best could do. If their 
young ambitions led them truly, they would not only 
penetrate to the head waters of thought and knowl- 
edge, but they would lend their services toward clear- 
ing out their channels and digging down into their 
sources. But if ambition led them not so far, they 
would stop when they could feel content that they 
had fulfilled the duty they owed their intellects, and 
had done their best to qualify themselves to think and 
act and live. 

There is no danger that they will flag in this pro- 
jected career. They are strong, earnest, and enthusi- 
astic j and in Stratford they will always have a wise 
and steadfast friend and backer. Their life-work 
and their life-love will go on together, and the one 
will not be interfered with by the other. 

Gay and Arthur were married in the time of early 
roses ; and then they went away and wandered joy- 
ously, coming back when the peaches were ripe and 
the juice of the grape-clusters was beginning to turn 
red and purple. Then it was that Mrs. Justin invited 
the young couple to her house at Cherry Bridge, to 
which Stratford still came over from the Bullripple 
farm on most of the days of the week. These holidays 
of Gay and Arthur could not last much longer, for in 
the early autumn they must go into the city and 
420 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


begin the life they bad marked out for themselves, 
which, for Arthur, would not be a very easy one, for 
it was necessary that his professional labors should 
keep pace with every other kind of work or study. 

They made good use, therefore, of this pleasure- 
time, and Gay, knowing the country better than her 
husband, generally acted as guide and suggestor. She 
took him, at the close of a day, through the sugar- 
maple grove to the little eminence where they could 
sit on the top rail of the fence and see the sunset 
glories of the western sky. They rowed upon the 
creek, and it was astonishing what a memory Gay 
possessed for sunken trees, shallow places, and sharp 
turnings. She guided Arthur into the tributary 
stream overshadowed by the forest trees, and they 
stopped at the spot in the heart of the woods where 
all seemed quiet and motionless save the dragon-flies 
and the flecks of sunlight on the surface of the pool, 
and where a spreading and low-hanging grape-vine 
formed a water arbor under which a little boat might 
lie. Now the air bore not the perfume of the tender 
blossoms of the vine, but the wild grapes hung dark, 
though not yet ripe, from under their broad leaves, 
and Gay could put up her hand and touch them. 

One morning the two were sitting together on a 
rustic bench on the lawn. Gay held a book in her 
lap, on the blank leaf of which she was making a 
sketch, not from nature, but from her imagination. 
Arthur, one arm on the back of the seat, watched 
with ardent interest the rapid growth of the drawing. 
They were in the shade, but all the air was full of 
light. Gay was very lovely that day. She wore a 
morning gown of pale blue, the front generously 
421 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


draped with white soft-hanging lace which ran away 
in graceful lines into the folds which lay about her 
feet. The wide brim of her hat was lined beneath 
with light-blue silk, which threw a subduing influence 
upon the golden tints which always seemed ready to 
break out in the masses of hair beneath it, and ex- 
tended its shade over the fair face, now slightly bent 
toward the drawing. Upon the crown and broad 
straw brim of this hat were clusters of apple-blossoms, 
which lay as naturally as if it had been springtime 
and they had just dropped there from some tree. 

Mrs. Justin and Stratford were standing upon the 
piazza looking at the young people on the lawn. It 
was a charming picture and well worthy their con- 
templation. 

“Now, sir / 7 said the lady, “there we see the full 
fruition of your work. Are you satisfied with it ? 77 

“I am / 7 he answered. “It was good work. And 
are you yet fully content ? 77 

“Yes / 7 said Mrs. Justin, “I believe I am. You 
know it was hard for me to be content, but I am 
beginning to see that events, as you controlled them, 
have resulted in great good . 77 

Stratford made no answer. If he had spoken from 
the depths of his heart he must have said that great 
good indeed had resulted from what he had done : 
great good to Gay, great good to Arthur, and even 
good to that first lover, Crisman— good to every one 
except himself. For in the fight he had fought he 
had been hurt; he had conquered, but he had been 
hurt. 

The essence of Mrs. Justin 7 s nature was loyalty— 
loyalty to past affection, loyalty to present friend- 
422 


THE HUNDREDTH MAN 


ships ; and it was the ardent earnestness of this senti- 
ment which threw into her friendship a sensitive and 
perceptive sympathy. Stratford said nothing, but 
she saw in his face something of what he thought. 

“My friend,” said she, laying her hand upon his 
arm, “could you have loved that girl?” 

“Yes,” said Stratford, “I could have loved her.” 

Mrs. Justin looked at him intently for a moment, 
and then she said : “Horace Stratford, I believe that 
you yourself are the hundredth man yon have been 
looking for.” 

An expression of surprise came into the face of 
Stratford, and then he smiled, but the smile did not 
last long. “If you think so,” he said, “I accept your 
decision, and my search is ended.” 


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